All Aboard the Nautilus (redone)
by Jerry65
Summary: Meet Nemo and Octavia Nautilus, two Octoling siblings who come from a rundown orphanage, where the strong beat the weak in an effort to survive. Now, they train and serve the Octarian Army, where they meet friends, old enemies, and try to survive in the cruel world they live in. Co-written with Wes Sirius
1. Chapter 1

**Beginnings**

 **Welcome to the redone version of All Aboard the Nautilus! If you've been following what's been happening to New Adventure, you'll know there are some changes going on in there. You'll also notice a semi-old note from Wes Sirius saying that he has cancelled All Aboard the Nautilus. Well, after some discussion and writing, I'm working with Wes to make All Aboard the Nautilus for all of you. This story is co-written with Wes, who writes when he does have free time. Hopefully you will enjoy what we have written so far, and know that we are still planning stuff and making sure the details here don't contradict the new changes in New Adventure.**

 **Disclaimer for the whole entire story: we don't own anything besides OCs. And the story.**

* * *

Oyster Orphanage. A place where children, left by their parents or guardians, could live together in peace. A place they can all call home, where they can come to feel safe from the dangerous things that lurk outside. However, that was what this place would have been described as several years ago. Now, the place is a rundown mess, the Octarians in charge of the whole thing not bothering to repair it. The building is falling apart, and so are its inhabitants, who constantly fight for survival. Here, there are two groups: the strong Octarians, who are the more tougher and faster ones, and the weak Octarians, who aren't as capable. Constantly, they fight, searching for every day necessities. But the people in charge don't care. As long as the building still earns some money for them, they could care less what goes on inside.

The wooden planks creaked under Octavia's feet as she ran and ran, clutching tightly onto a bag of sandwiches, which she managed to get from a nearby restaurant. While bread was something most wouldn't really care for, here, a basket of bread was a jackpot. But having something valuable like this, she already knows she's an immediate target.

" _I have to get this to Nemo and the others. If I fail, we could be starving for the rest of this week…"_ Octavia told herself. As she ran, she can hear her own footsteps make constant noise on the wood floor, which hasn't looked so great in several years. They're old, and it looks as if they might just rot and bury her beneath the ground, as if the Octarians weren't already deep enough. But she ignored her thoughts, because now she can hear them. Above her, the ceiling was open. Some new wooden planks were put on the pipes, but they weren't put there by repairmen. They were put there for easier transportation among rooms.

" _Oh cod, they found me. I'm almost at the basement, I just have to-"_ Octavia felt a weight slam down onto her back, knocking her over. The bag with sandwiches fell from her hands and tumbled to the ground, inches in front of her face. She reached to grab them, only for her attacker to grab her wrist and twist her around, making her face him.

"Did you think you could hide!?" her attacker, a navy blue Octoling boy shouted into her face. She swung her other free arm at him, her hand connecting with his jaw and making him fall over. He quickly recovered, and just as she was about to make a run for it, he grabbed her ankles and pulled her back to the ground. He swung at Octavia, but she luckily dodged his strike and punched him in the gut. This did little to stop him, and he swung again. His second attack was slower, giving her just enough time to get out of the way and kick him off. She leapt up and tried to punch him from above, but he rolled aside and caught her by the arm. She grabbed a nearby plank of wood, which had been broken, and aimed the sharp side toward him and jabbed it into his shoulder. He stumbled back, holding his injured shoulder as it bled. His gaze then fell on Octavia once again as he tackled her, grabbing her neck and slamming her against a nearby wall. The walls, weak from age, started to cave in when her back was pressed against it, concrete dust flying all over. The Octoling then raised her up, scraping her back against the wall. She grasped his arm, trying to keep herself from choking as he tightened his grip.

"Heh, looks like you weaklings got stronger! Might as well give up though, because only one of us will get out here alive, and it ain't gonna be you."

"W-why can't w-we share food…" She pleaded among tears.

"You want to share? So more weaklings like you can go around and weaken our race? Nuh-uh, not happenin. Not after we lost the Great Turf War." The Octoling glared at her. Out of instinct, she started to flail her legs around, eventually kicking the plank of wood deeper into his shoulder wound. The wound started to bleed even more, and he cried out in anguish and pain. Angrily, he punched her in the stomach, making her curl up. She could feel immense pain as he punched again and again.

"Pl-please...stop…" Octavia begged weakly. The Octoling didn't stop though, and then he raised his arm for another hit. But before he could strike again, someone grabbed his attention by tapping him on the shoulder. He quickly stopped and spun around, only for the other half of the plank to get shoved into his face. The sharp end ruptured out the other side of his head, and his dead body fell to the ground, dropping Octavia. She held her neck and gasped for air, thankful to be free of his grasp. Octavia looked up to see several Octolings running to her, with a maroon one throwing his arms around her in a hug.

"Octavia, you're okay!" Nemo held her close. "Thank cod, I thought we lost you…" She hugged back, and right behind them was the Octoling who killed her attacker, watching them. Their small reunion would last for only a few short seconds before more Octolings came, jumping down from the ceiling. These kids were more older looking, being taller and stronger in appearance. The one in the front, a purple Octoling boy, walked up, clapping sarcastically.

"Well well well, looks like someone brought us food! Too bad one of our own had to die for it." A wicked grin appeared on his face.

"He was going to kill her." the boy who saved Octavia replied, only getting a small chuckle from the boy as a response.

"Oh man Orcus, you are a special one indeed! Now tell me, are you gonna come back and live with us up here, or are you gonna go live with the weaklings, who could hardly gather food for themselves?"

"They aren't weak. They're just at an unfair disadvantage, so I'm here to give them what they need to survive, whether you like it or not, Owen." Orcus barked back. Owen just shrugged at his former friend's answer.

"Very well. I respect you, Orcus. As for people like Nemo, well...let's just say they can all burn in hell. Let's go. We're done here, boys." Owen ordered his group to follow him, and they went back into the upper floors of the Orphanage. Orcus turned around and helped Nemo carry Octavia as the rest of them headed toward the basement.

"Orcus, you didn't have to leave them to join us. We're just holding you back…" Octavia muttered, still hurt from that fight.

"Nonsense. It's not fair that you guys barely get food, and here I am with everything up there. I came here to help you guys." He insisted.

"Thank you for rescuing me." Octavia mumbled with a kind smile, and Orcus responded with a simple nod. The basement was dark, only lit by a few candles here and there. The whole place was cold, but by now everyone here was mostly used to it. Some blankets and mattresses were scattered all over the floor, where people would sleep. After all, the only beds available were upstairs, where only the "strong" lived. If any of them were to go up, it would be suicide. Orcus got up from his spot while Nemo tended to Octavia's wounds. The rest of the kids there went and took some food. Nemo wasn't worried about someone taking more than they needed, because they all knew to leave some for the rest.

"Where are you going?" Orcus stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder at Nemo.

"I'm going to bury the one I killed. I know he was going to kill Octavia, but in here, we're all fighting for survival, and while I do think it was wrong of him to attack her, I don't think I should just leave his body there to rot. He was young too." Orcus explained.

"Need me to help ya?" Nemo offered.

"Actually, yeah, I'd like that. Thanks." and with that, Orcus left the basement.

* * *

 **Two Years Later, Octarian Military Academy…**

"Forty one! Forty two! Forty three!" a middle aged Octoling shouted, with many younger Octolings in front of him. They were doing pushups, and after a few minutes, some were already struggling.

"Come on, soldiers! You want those Inklings to splat you like some small fry? If not, you gotta get tougher! Get those muscles moving, and get them to move faster ya maggots!" the commander shouted.

"Yes sir!" Nemo replied, doing another pushup. His arms were starting to get tired, but he kept pushing on, attempting to ignore the pain. One Octoling girl fell to her knees, before throwing up. The Octoling to her left tried to scoot away, disgusted by the sight, while the one on her right tried to help her. The commander walked over to them, giving them a stern look.

"What, is a few pushups gonna kill you? If you can't even manage these exercises, imagine fighting Inkling soldiers! Those suckers'll be lean, mean, fightin' machines, and they'll tear you apart like a ragdoll! You might as well sign up as K-Class!" the commander shouted. The girl was in tears, with her friend trying to get her back to doing the pushups. Nemo turned to another cadet beside him, who was also trying to ignore the pain in his arms.

"Hey, what was he talking about? What's K-Class?" Nemo asked. The guy didn't seem annoyed, and he helpfully answered with an exhausted tone.

"During the Great Turf War, Octarian scientists found out a way to turn your ink sac into an explosive. Traitors or POW Inklings were modified to have these explosive ink sacs and were basically dropped on Inkling cities."

"Wait, so they became living explosives?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Thing is, they were forced to jump off the UFOs, and once they jumped the modification forced them into squid or octopus form. I heard Octavio has banned the making of K-Class soldiers after the War though, so there's really nothing to worry about." the boy explained. They didn't notice the commander had walked up to them, and once Nemo saw him they both shut up.

"What are you two talking about?" He asked sternly.

"We are talking about our dreams to serve DJ Octavio and the Octarian Army, sir!" Nemo replied. The commander just glared at him, making him nervous. If they were caught lying, they could be punished, especially when it was to a superior.

"Well, if you have time to talk, you have more time to do more pushups." The commander sighed and walked away.

"YES SIR!" both shouted simultaneously. The cadets continued their pushups until they were called for lunch period, in which they all rushed out, exhausted, aching, and hungry.

 _What a day..._ Nemo grabbed his tray of food from a counter; a basic sandwich with almost no flavor and a basic, tasteless drink. He was too hungry to care though, and wandered around until he found Octavia, who was sitting alone at a table. She moved over to give him room and they started to eat.

"So, how was training today?" Octavia asked her brother.

"Ugh, terrible." He groaned. "My arms hurt like shell and I had to listen to the commander berate us for an hour."

"Ouch. Well, mine wasn't any different. I had more or less the same thing today." Octavia responded. Nemo chuckled, and they both took a bite out of their sandwich. Feeling the sandwich was a bit dry, Nemo got up to get some sauce, which he knew would give it some sense of flavor. He walked over and grabbed a handful of packets, and turned around to see three Octolings he easily recognized.

"Why, look who we have here. Nemo Nautilus, the little punk. How's life away from the Orphanage?" Owen taunted. "You like living here at the academy"

"Shut up and get out of my face." Nemo muttered, prompting Owen to motion for his tall, muscular friend, Oscar Mahishi, to pick up Nemo off the ground, grabbing his head. Nemo struggled, grabbing Oscar's large hand and trying to pry his fingers off his tentacles, but to no avail.

"You might be getting comfortable right now Nemo, but don't think it'll stay that way. I can still make your life miserable for you, so don't think you can go around and act like you're the alpha here." Owen muttered viciously in Nemo's face. He then nodded his head, letting Oscar drop Nemo to the floor. The three of them walked away as Nemo scrambled to his feet and walked back to Octavia.

"What happened? Why were you gone for so long?" Octavia asked, worried.

"Owen is here, and so are his lackeys. And to think we would never see them again…"

"Nemo, you can't be serious. They're actually here!? Like, right now?"

"Yes, that's what I said. Just when I thought life could actually be decent for once, it just punches me back to the ground." Nemo sadly told himself as he slumped back onto his seat and started to squirt some sauce on the sandwich.

"I know for a fact those guys are gonna cause trouble around here. Perhaps we can find a way to get transferred somewhere else."

"Yeah, I'll ask the superiors, but I can't make any promises." Nemo said. Octavia smiled and took a sip from her drink.  
"That's good to hear. Minus the last part, but that's still good!"

"Octavia, you're always so positive."

"Heh, guilty as charged. When you have a life like ours, it's good to stay positive. Anyway, we should head out, before we get bombarded with back breaking work." Octavia said and they threw out their trash before walking out of the cafeteria to do things in the free time they had before more grueling training and exercises.

* * *

"Come in." The commander ordered, hearing a knock on his door. Nemo walked in obediently, standing straight with a composed posture. His commander had been working on some paperwork, looking through files. He stared at a computer screen, scrolling through more files.

"State your business, cadet."

"My sister and I want to be transferred elsewhere."

"And your reason is?" The commander asked, not pulling his eyes away from the screen that illuminated the otherwise dark office.  
"We've worked hard, training at this academy for a while now. I think it's best we get transferred to somewhere that could benefit us further, sir. With your permission, we would both like to be transferred." The commander looked up from the screen. Nemo and his sister, Octavia, were getting better and advancing further than the rest of the cadets under his lead. He felt as if they were leaving too soon, as if this wasn't the real reason they requested to leave. But looking through their files, he could see them becoming fit Octarian soldiers, probably easily becoming part of the Elites.

"Your file here says you're struggling with hand to hand combat, Nemo. Your sharpshooting skills are a little above average, but not by much. Octavia did slightly better accuracy wise, but she also struggles in close combat, more than you. What you're requesting is bogus."

"But sir, I know we can excel in those areas if we can get to a better academy, where we can be challenged. The cadets around us are...less than average." Nemo said. He had a hard time calling his fellow cadets "less than average". After all, he's been with weak people all his life, and these guys hardly knew how to fight.

"As for your academics, both you and Octavia did better than most here…"

"See? We could prove that we can do better. Maybe being in a different place could help us improve everything else, like our combat skills." Nemo added. The commander thought for a moment before finally answering.

"Very well. I will talk it over with a few of my comrades and see if they agree. If they do, I will notify you. You can leave." the commander ordered. Nemo bowed and left the office, smiling. Although the answer his superior gave him wasn't a yes, he was still happy that there was a possible chance both him and Octavia could go somewhere safer. And like Octavia said, it's best to stay positive, especially in a life like theirs…

* * *

 **Cephalon HQ…**

"Octavio, please listen to me. We both know we want to win against the Inklings, no matter the cost. Make them pay, make them suffer as we have suffered down here." Octavio was starting to fall asleep out of pure boredom. He had been listening to his nephew rant for an hour about some "genius" plans he had been working on, projects that could boost their strength.

"I'm not interested. My concern right now is getting Zapfish to power our weapons, domes, and many other technology we have. I'm not going to war with the Inklings, if that's what you're saying."

"But Octavio, once you steal the Zapfish, what if the Inklings attack? You know we have such a disadvantage. Our low power supply, our weapons, our weak troops...we'd be destroyed, even by a small militia!"

"Are you calling us Octarians weak, Augustus?" The king growled, annoyed. "Are you of little faith?"

"You're so thick headed! I know what I'm doing, Octavio! I'm completely aware of what's going on! And I know for a fact my projects can benefit us, both now and in the future. We are no longer the more powerful race. The Inklings found out how to create automatic weapons from us. They've improved their weapons, technology, and could easily overpower us. But give me permission to start these projects, and I promise you a swift victory."

"Many of your projects are unethical and dangerous, not to mention too stupid and unrealistic." Octavio swiftly pointed out. "So what if the Inklings learned to improve their weapons from us? That doesn't matter, what matters is that we get the Zapfish and reactivate the Great Octoweapons to make sure the Inklings don't come launching full scale attacks on Octo Valley. That is enough."

Augustus was frustrated. If he was the leader, he could have easily seen how these projects could help them. The weapons, the soldier enhancements...he would have approved of it all. But he saw Octavio as being too soft on their enemies.

"At least let me try one of my projects, please Uncle!" Octavio just sighed. _Good lord, his whiny voice drives me nuts..._

"Fine. Which is it?"

"I merely thought of getting the best, most strongest, skilled soldiers from our current military academies, and enhance their abilities, their strengths. Think about it, when the Inklings come fighting us for their precious Zapfish, they'll have to deal with our much more superior soldiers!" Octavio thought for a while, looking his nephew in the eyes. He could see that his nephew was begging for him to approve, he could see the frustration in his eyes. But how could he approve some of these projects when they involved experimenting in such disgusting ways? Augustus is probably naive of the consequences. Perhaps he doesn't know what consequences these experiments could lead to, what devastating outcomes they could have. Of course, he could order the shut down of the project whenever he wanted, being the leader and all.

"Very well, Augustus. I approve of THAT project, and ONLY that one, understand? Nothing else! And if I feel like this project of yours isn't going a way I feel safe about, I will shut it down, whether you like it or not."

"Yes, Uncle. Thank you for listening." Augustus replied. He was excited. Finally, he did it! _Now, to just show Octavio that everything I said before is gonna be true_. Those bastard Inklings are going to pay, and he will make sure it happens. He ran off, giddy and happy, ready to show his partner, Marina, his results. In the distance, Octavio just sighed, but he also smiled. He loved his nephew, and it brought him joy to see him happy.

"Don't fail me, my boy." Octavio muttered before he crawled off to give his people their daily dose of his beats...

* * *

 **I know the chapter is sort of short, but later chapters will be longer. Know that this reboot, if that's what you want to call it, could be slightly different from the old one if you've read the old one before. As for how often chapters will be uploaded, we really don't have much of a schedule. Thanks for reading, and there might be a QnA later about this story, our collaboration, and other details so stay tuned!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Friends**

 **Time for a new chapter! And this time, we'll be introducing some characters you'll already recognize from New Adventure! Now, from what I've seen in reviews, I could tell people were hoping for some more interactions between Augustus and Octavio. So for those of you that wanted that, be sure to read this story, cause there will be lots of interactions between the two later on! Hopefully you guys are enjoying what you've been reading so far.**

* * *

"FIGHT!" A sergeant ordered, and two Octolings charged at each other, throwing punches and blocking each other's attacks before countering. Nemo was one of the opponents, the other being an Octoling he had never met. He swung a punch to his opponent's left, but it was quickly met with a block and then a kick. Nemo dove away just in time before trying to score an uppercut. The Octoling was ready however, and so he quickly punched Nemo across the face, knocking him to the ground. The Octoling then sat on top of him while letting punches fly toward Nemo's face. Nemo did his best to block, but he felt like it hardly mattered and that the punches were destroying his face.

"Come on, STAND UP!" Octavia encouraged, with a hint of worry in her tone. Nemo's opponent could feel his arms beginning to tire, and so the speed of his punches began to slow down. This made blocking slightly easier, and since he wasn't getting hit repeatedly in the face so much, Nemo took this opportunity to fight back. He hooked his leg around his opponent's ankle, and then managed to grab his shoulder and pull him down. Nemo then rolled his opponent over so that he was now on top, allowing him to quickly jump back. His opponent was fast, and was able to get back up before Nemo could try and kick him. He charged headfirst, and Nemo sidestepped away before grabbing him and kneeing him in the gut. His opponent, clearly stunned by his strike, stumbled around a bit. Nemo kicked him before following with an uppercut, raising the Octoling's body and making his posture straight rather than hunched over. He then punched several times before the Octoling fell, weak and unable to fight back.

"Nemo Nautilus wins." The soldier on the side announced. There were some cheers, and a few claps. However, Octavia was the happiest, hugging her brother in the middle of the ring.

"You did it!" Octavia exclaimed, tightening her grip.

"Yeah, I know." Nemo answered. He could feel the air get blown out of his body. Octavia noticed this and released from their hug, chuckling slightly.

"Hehe, sorry…"

"No need." Nemo said. He then turned towards the Octoling he fought, who was getting up from the ground. Nemo walked over to him and stretched out his hand, offering to help him up.

"Hey, good match. You were pretty skilled."

"Thanks. You were pretty good too." The Octoling responded, kindly taking his hand as Nemo helped him up. The Octoling earned a few bruises during the match, and so did Nemo, but no serious injuries other than that.

"Nemo and Octavia Nautilus, to my office. Now." The commander ordered, having walked into the room so suddenly. The cadets and trainees in the room all stood straight, saluting their superior as he waited for the two siblings to follow him.

"Y-yes sir." Octavia said obediently, and she motioned for Nemo to follow her. He just shrugged, waving to the other cadets. As soon as the commander left the room, they started talking amongst themselves, wondering what might happen to the two.

* * *

"Cadet Nemo, earlier you asked me about transferring." The commander s walked. to his swivel chair. He still had some files and paperwork on the desk, but it wasn't much as the last time Nemo came. "Please, sit."

"Yes sir." Nemo and Octavia both responded a little too quickly, and sat down on the two chairs in front of him. Octavia scooted hers closer since it was further away. Once they all got settled, the commander began to speak.

"Nemo, I spoke with some higher ups about your request, and we looked through your personal files as well as health, behaviour, and combat records. From what we can tell, you two are eligible for a transfer." He announced, spinning a pen on the desk out of boredom. His cold stare gave Octavia a shiver down her spine, but she still made eye contact, not wanting to be disrespectful to a superior officer.

"So, are we getting transferred like I asked?" Nemo asked hesitantly.

"Yes, you are." The commander nodded. "You leave tomorrow."

"Yes!" Both siblings leapt out of their seats, high-fiving each other. The commander cleared his throat, and they both immediately sat back down.

"The military academy you've been sent to is called Cephalon Military Academy. It's located near Cephalon HQ, whe-"

"Where the DJ is!" Octavia interrupted. The commander glared at her, making her shrink down into her seat in embarrassment.

"Yes, you are correct, the DJ King is around there, and so are many other famous higher ups. This academy is strict, and there will be many, many others there who are as skilled or even more skilled than you are right now. Know that failure to follow rules and regulations at the academy will result in severe consequences and punishment."

"Trust us, sir, we can handle it." Nemo said confidently.

"Very well. I wish you the best of luck, Nautilus. Dismissed." The commander waved them away, obviously wanting to do something else than have to deal with some cadet's minor transfer requests. The two siblings left the office, excited and relieved. Now that they are transferring, they could be much further from Owen and his gang of low lifes, not to mention a better place to train.

"Via, you know what this means?" Nemo looked at his sister excitedly.

"Yes. We could become fantastic soldiers! We could possibly test the new weapons the scientists have created! Or get away from Owen and the others!"

"Yes those are all great, but best of all, we'll be close to the DJ. And if we impress him, we could be legendary elites." Nemo added.

"Huh, I never thought of it that way...that's good too! See doesn't it feel great to stay positive?" She beamed, putting a smile onto her brother's face.

"Possibly. Let's pack now so we don't have to later. Shouldn't take long since we barely own anything." Nemo suggested. Octavia nodded, and they both hurried off to their rooms.

* * *

 **The Next Day**

"Come on troops, get to yer transports immediately!" A soldier shouted through a megaphone. "No dilly dallying; we have a tight schedule and if you miss your transport, say goodbye to your ride 'cuz it ain't comin' back for ya!" All over were trucks and jeeps, and even more Octarians of all kinds trying to get to their assigned vehicles. Nemo and Octavia only had one bag each, not really owning much belongings ever since they left Oyster Orphanage. The two pushed through the sea of Octarians as they tried to reach a truck in the back. The truck has pretty big, with a long trailer that had no roof over it. On the trailer were several seats for troops, and a small mound where bags were. Nemo and Octavia ran toward the truck, and hurried on board.

"Excited?" Nemo asked, taking a seat. Octavia followed, and they sat together as the truck drove away from the crowded mess that was the transportation center.

"Sure. Maybe we can find some friends at the new place." Octavia responded, dropping her bag between her legs. As they left the dome, the siblings' stress and fear of their old life returning was leaving their minds, and they relaxed. It took a few hours to get to Cephalon Military Academy, located near Octo Valley. Both Nemo and Octavia fell asleep, with the latter leaning on her brother's shoulder and using it as a pillow. The Octarians around them had also fallen asleep, and only a few were actually awake. Eventually, the truck reached its destination, slowly braking in front of the entrance. An officer followed by several Elites greeted them, and the truck drivers opened the back door.

"WAKE UP TROOPS!" The officer roared at the top of his lungs, jolting everyone awake. Octavia, startled by his loud voice, jumped before Nemo, who was woken up as well, accidentally whacked her in the face with his arm, causing her to fall over.

"Aye yai yai…" The officer shook his head in disappointment. A few of the Elites attempted to stifle their own laughter at the scene they were watching.

"Come on, get out. Ride's over, let's go!" the drivers said, pulling the tired troops out toward the officer. Once they all lined up in formation, he began to speak.

"Welcome to Cephalon Military Academy. We welcome all of you into our ranks as fellow Octarian soldiers, all serving the DJ King. Our academy is top of the class, with many of our top students continuing on as Elites. You are all here because, from what I'm assuming, you're all proficient in your old training facilities. Here, we do not tolerate misbehaviour. Failure to comply to our rules will result in punishment, depending on how severe your crime was."

"Get on with it…" Nemo muttered. Unfortunately, the officer heard him, and immediately turned towards him.

"Excuse me, cadet, but what was that?" Nemo suddenly looked up, shocked to find the officer glaring daggers at him.  
"Uh, n-nothing sir." He lied, only for the officer to see right through it.

"That didn't sound like 'nothing'. Pushups, cadet. Now." The officer ordered, pointing to the ground.

"But-"

"I said NOW!" The officer repeated, pointing even more angrily to the hard ground below. Nemo groaned before getting down to the position and doing as told. Satisfied, the officer resumed speaking.

"Due to the large size of this place and so that no one is distracted from their training, you will be split into groups depending on gender." Nemo had already done ten pushups, but upon hearing this, he dropped to his knees and looked towards Octavia, who had the same shocked expression as he did.

"WHAT!?" Nemo exclaimed.

"HEY!" The officer glared at Nemo once more. "Did I say you can stop, cadet? CONTINUE!"

"Yes...sir…" Nemo spat, before silently returning to his punishment.

"There are two sides of the building, one for male troops and another for female. Go to the correct side. If you need help, which I don't even know why you would, there are others there to assist you. You are all dismissed." The officer told them. He glared at Nemo, before walking over and kicking him in the chest. The boy fell, grasping his chest as he felt the officer's foot crush his lungs.

"That will teach you to behave better." The officer said in a cruel manner, before chuckling as he walked away. Octavia knelt down and helped Nemo up, who was coughing. "Bro!"

"I-I'm fine Via. Really, I am."

"Do we really have to be separated?" Tears began to form on the corners of her eyes. "We've never left each other's side...ever!"

"I know, Octavia, but this time is different." Nemo gave her a hug to soothe her. "Things will be better here. Hopefully."

"Yeah, hopefully." Octavia bowed her head sadly, trudging over to the area where she was supposed to go. Nemo did the same, but walked in the other direction where the other male troops were. _Welp, seems like fate has to be a jerk to both of us, huh? Good luck, wherever you are, sis. Hrmm, I wonder who's gonna be my bunkmate? That last one was a sassy mute chick. Hope this one's more sociable…_

* * *

"Name?"

"Octavia Nautilus." Octavia responded. The Octoling at the front looked at the list in her hand. She tapped a pen on the side of her cheek, obviously bored of the job she was assigned.

"You'll be in room 638 with Cici Octavian."

"Who's that?" Octavia asked, not familiar with the name.

"Oh, you'll find out. Just go to your room and stop holding the line." The Octoling told her, waving her away. Octavia walked into the main gates to the female half of the academy, where she went over to where the dorms would be. The whole place was huge, with several stories full of dorms, each housing two Octolings. She walked around, feeling lost in the endless halls of the dorms, constantly moving from floor to floor via elevators. Finally, after getting enough information from people around her, she found room 638. She opened the door, and found another Octoling girl, about her age, sitting on the edge of her bed and staring at the floor. The floor was carpet, and there were beds on both sides of the room. The room wasn't very big, but it wasn't incredibly small either. To Octavia's surprise, the room was pretty organized and clean.

"Hi there, my name is Octavia Nautilus." She started. "Um...are you my roommate?" The girl turned to face her, a dull expression on her face.

"What room were you assigned?" She responded, with an emotionless tone.

"Um...room 638."

"Then you're in the right room. And that would make me your roommate." The girl then turned and laid down on her bed. Octavia dropped her stuff by the empty bed across from her roommate, and then she plopped herself right on the mattress.

"So...what's your name?" Octavia asked shyly. Her roommate seemed slightly annoyed, although she did answer.

"Cici Octavian."

"What do you like to do around here?" Octavia asked, sounding less shy than her previous question.

"And why do you care?"

"Because I want to get to know you! Plus, we could be friends an-" Octavia was interrupted by her roommate, whose name she now knew was Cici, jolting straight up from her bed.

"Woah, woah, woah, hold it right there. What do you mean we can become 'friends'? What are you, four? Look, just because we are roommates, doesn't mean we are automatically 'friends'."

"Oh...I just...I just thought that maybe I could make some new friends since I only have my brother..." Cici just rolled her eyes, and then walked over to her, putting her hand on the Octoling's shoulder.

"Look, I'm not saying I don't want to be your friend, okay? We can be friends, I guess, but...let's just do one thing at a time and see how we go from there, all right?"

"O-okay." Octavia muttered, slightly cheered up. Cici just shrugged before returning to her bed, closing her eyes and taking a short nap.

 _My roommate is...interesting. Oh well, she sounds nice, I guess. I wonder what she's thinking"_ Octavia just watched Cici sleep, thinking to herself as she did so. Meanwhile, Cici had her eyelids opened slightly, and saw Octavia just staring at her.

 _Okay...she's weird. At least she isn't insane._ Cici closed her eyes once more. _She sounds nice though, from what I can tell. Maybe I should give her a chance…when she stops watching me sleep. Weirdo._

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

"So...where are we going again?" Nemo asked his new roommate, a small boy named Trenton, who seemed super happy to have him around. Nemo didn't really think much, and he didn't have much else to do so he followed Trenton when he asked to.

"We're going to see my sister! She's super nice, and really smart too!" Trenton gushed happily. Nemo just shrugged and followed closely behind. They soon arrived to large double sliding doors. Trenton pressed his hand against a small screen nearby, and both doors opened. Nemo was always impressed with the military technology, especially with things he's never experienced before. Nemo closely followed Trenton into the large room, which looked like a laboratory. The room was well lit, with many long tables lined with devices and machine parts. In the room were only two Octolings. The female of the group had seaweed in her tentacles, which Nemo immediately recognized that she had Elite status.

"Wait, your sister is an Elite?"

"Yeah, she recently got promoted. Even though she has Elite status, technically she's not a fighter. Just an engineer."

"Ah, okay. Not in the frontlines." Nemo nodded understandably.

"Yeah, but she still outranks both of us, as well as most of the trainees and staff here." Trenton noted. Nemo noticed the other Octoling beside her, a tall male, talking to her as she tried soldering something onto a circuit board.

"Trenton, who's that?"

"That's Augustus, nephew of DJ Octavio." This news shocked Nemo, who went wide-eyed.

"H-Hold on, he's related to the DJ King!? W-what's he doing here? Shouldn't he be somewhere more important?" Nemo asked Trenton, who was about to answer.

"Boys, if you really want to know why I'm here and not somewhere more 'important', it's because nowhere else really is important than right here." Augustus put down his tools and walked over to the two. He put his arms around their shoulders and brought them closer to the table where Marina worked. She yanked off her goggles and smiled warmly at the two. Nemo found her very attractive, although he would never admit that, especially not to a respected Elite, who could easily get him booted out of this academy in a matter of a few calls. Marina had pretty short tentacles, showing that she was pretty young.

"Hey there, bro." Marina greeted as her eyes quickly settled on Nemo. "Who's your new friend?"

"Oh, this is Nemo Nautilus. He's my new roommate!"

"Oh, that's cool. You're getting along with him, right Trenton?" Marina asked, glancing at Nemo as if to observe him.

"Yeah, we're doing fine." Nemo answered.

"That's good. You boys wanna see what we've been working on?" Augustus asked, and both nodded eagerly. After all, these two were high ranking, and whatever they were about to see was probably top secret stuff. Augustus and Marina led them to another part of the lab, where some tubes were. The tubes looked like the kinds used to make Octarian soldiers, especially the ones used during the Great Turf War when they were used to try and attempt to outnumber the Inklings. Tubes like these were still common, and many of those made from these tubes were "born" soldiers.

"This is our recent project, approved by Octavio himself! What we are trying to do is use the files from all of our academies and try to pick a handful of the best, most skilled Octarians. By taking these Octarians, we will give them sort of a 'boost' of some sort, making all their stats overall higher. Soon, these 'super' soldiers will be used to combat the Inklings, and with their upgraded strength, stamina, skill, and just overall sheer force, we'll be able to destroy those Inklings before they even know what hit them." Augustus explained. He continued to explain some of the more complex, scientific concepts that neither Trenton nor Nemo could understand. While he did so, Marina brought them over to her area, which was covered in machine parts.

"Has he noticed we left?" Nemo asked, pointing to Augustus.

"Nope, and he probably won't. He won't be mad though, mostly because I'm here." Marina mumbled in a low voice. Nemo tilted his head in confusion.

"I don't follow…"

"Augustus...how do explain it? Look, I know I'm quite attractive. And yes, several times before, Octolings tried their best to impress me. Augustus is like that, but since I've been assigned to help him with his approved projects, so I'm pretty sure he thinks that he can win me over. But he does treat me like a co-worker and isn't super creepy around me. Touchy sometimes, but not too weird."

"I don't like him…" Trenton muttered.

"Wait, are we actually attacking the Inklings? Cause no offense, but I imagine we would be destroyed." Nemo asked.

"Well, from what I heard personally, no. Actually, I don't think Octavio even wants to attack the Inklings. And yes, considering we know almost nothing about what's going on up on the surface, we would be at a disadvantage." Marina said. Nemo agreed, although he was confused why Octavio approved the making of "super soldiers".

"So...why is Augustus trying to make super soldiers?" Nemo asked. Trenton was fidgeting around with a circuit board, turning it in his hands. Marina smiled at the sight, amused.

"I think Octavio allowed him to do it because there's really nothing else Augustus thinks about besides winning against the Inklings in war, and because Octavio is just too naive, if that's how you can put it. I've seen some of Augustus' rejected projects, and a lot of them are horrid. One involved some sort of lobotomy to turn captured Inklings into mindless soldiers, another was capturing some Inklings and observing their anatomy to find ways to torture them, another was some sort of brainwashing goggles...it scares me. Octavio obviously rejected these ideas, but I still think his mind is still having trouble getting used to Augustus like he is now. From what I heard, he was a smart and nice kid."

"Interesting…" Nemo added.

"Hey, if you guys are bored, at least tell me you're walking away instead of ignoring me." Augustus told them, walking over to them with a clipboard in hand. He still had a smile on his face and seemed friendly, for now. But from what Nemo heard, deep down, Augustus is one scary octopus.

"What? You look like you've seen a ghost. Did Marina tell you guys about scary stories about Inklings or something?" Augustus asked jokingly, putting an arm around Marina's waist. This obviously made her uncomfortable.

"Um, Augustus…"

"Oh, sorry, my bad." Augustus apologized. "You have nice hips though." Marina just ignored his comment, with Trenton glaring at him, disgusted. Nemo just shook his head.

"Anyway, you two should be going now. We're busy right now, so we can't have any further distractions." Augustus told them, leading them out the door. Trenton tried to protest, attempting to plant his feet where they were, but Augustus continued pushing them.

"B-but Marina said-"

"Your sister is busy, and so am I. It was nice meeting your new friend, Trenton. You can come back tomorrow if our schedule isn't full." Augustus said to him before shutting the door and locking it with a keypad. Trenton just rested his hands on the now locked doors, a forlorn expression on his face.

"Come on Trenton, let's go." Nemo said, motioning him to follow. Trenton stayed put however, unconvinced by Augustus' "friendly" face.

"I don't like him." Trenton mumbled, after some silence between the two.

"I know you don't. Here, let's do something else to take your mind off it." Nemo suggested, agreeing with Trenton that he didn't like Augustus either. Trenton looked up from where he was standing, and seemed to have cheered up slightly.

"O-Okay. What are we gonna do?" Trenton asked as he followed Nemo down the hall.

"I...I don't know, I just got here." Nemo answered honestly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Wanna go try the recreation center?"

"Sure." Nemo agreed, and they walked down the long hall back to the academy.

* * *

 **In the Lab…**

"Welp, they're gone." Augustus noted, dusting off his hands with a victorious smirk on his face. Marina just rolled her eyes, returning to soldering some wires onto a circuit board. Augustus noticed her less than happy mood easily.

"What's wrong? You usually aren't upset, especially not in this line of work…"

"Nice hips? Really? Out of anything you could say about me, it was that?" Marina asked, obviously sounding annoyed.

"Hey, first thing that came to mind. Sorry." Augustus said, putting his hands up in feign surrender.

"Also, don't ever push my brother out the door like that." Marina switched to a sterner tone. "He can stay if he wants, and he leaves when I tell him to." Augustus just slumped onto a swivel chair, spinning to face Marina.

"But he's such a distraction, and he never even understands our line of work, nor is he actually interested. He's just some useless distraction we don't need at this time!" Augustus claimed.

The intense spark that was already inside Marina began to sizzle into a flame. It's not just that Augustus' apology wasn't serious, just like his other ones, but because he was insulting her own brother, who already had enough problems on his own. She turned around, glaring at him, knowing exactly what she wants to say.

"He is not a distraction. This lab is the only place he feels safe, where he feels comfortable because I'm here. Out there? So many of his fellow trainees and soldiers insult him, picking him out of the crowd all because he's too scared to fight. You might find him as a distraction, but he's family **and the time he visits are the only times I get to see him now**!" Marina shouted. Augustus jumped back, surprised at her sudden anger at him.

"Alright, alright, I made a mistake. I'm sorry for calling him a useless distraction, and I'll try to treat him more fairly. Better?"

"Much." Marina answered, but despite this, she didn't feel any better. But right now, she had to tuck away her emotions because they were resuming their work on the project.

"Have you found any candidates for our project?" Marina asked, trying to lighten the already tense mood. She tried to sound as nice as she could, but Augustus could tell she was still slightly miffed about the previous situation.

"Yes, I believe I have. I'm still looking in on other people, but two names have me interested." Augustus shifted his eyes across the list of names on his clipboard.

"Alright. Note them somewhere and keep looking, while I start designing those 'Flooders' requested by the higher ups." Marina instructed, and Augustus turned around to look through many more files sent by high ranking Octarian officials from all over the Valley and the Canyon. Marina unraveled a large blueprint with some designs of these new machines, and as she examined them and jotted down some notes, her thoughts started to float towards Trenton and his new roommate, whom he seemed happy around. _I hope this new friend of his can help him. He really needs someone to be by his side, especially right now, when he's starting to see me less often…_

* * *

 **Well, there we have it, the 2nd chapter of All Aboard the Nautilus! Hopefully you are enjoying this series so far, as Wes and I are working hard to make sure it fits well with the events of New Adventure. Anyway, about how often it'll get updates, I'm trying at least one chapter a week to see how well that goes. Anyway, thanks for reading! Woomy!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Reunion**

 **Sorry for the somewhat late update, but here we are again for the third chapter! I've been busy this week and a little bit last week, so Wes has written most of this chapter. Anyway, this story is going the way we want, and we seem pretty happy about it.**

* * *

"C'mon Cici, we won't be able to eat for the next five hours if we're late!" Octavia skipped her way to the canteen, while Cici, uninterested as always, trudged behind her.

 _Why is she so happy all the time? How can she be so happy all the time? This girl makes absolutely no sense…_ Cici thought to herself as she followed her roommate to the canteen. It was about lunch time for them, and the tables were mostly filled with Octolings of all genders, considering the canteen was one of the only places where both sides could meet. It looked like the one in the last academy her and Nemo had been in, only bigger and a bit cleaner. The lines to the food were getting longer as time passed, and Octavia did not wait for it to get any longer. Feeling around the air, she finally found Cici's hand, and then proceeded to drag her partner into the line. Cici, who was startled by this, was pulled back and nearly tripped from her own feet. Once they found a spot in line, Octavia released her hand. Cici just glared at Octavia, who had an apologetic look on her face.

"Sorry...I was eager to get my food…"

"No, it's fine, I guess." Cici sighed. "Just...warn me next time." Octavia nodded, and they slowly waited as they got closer and closer to the serving area. The Twintacle Octotrooper kept its bored scowl on the two as it handed them a tray of food for each of them. The set consisted of a sandwich with tuna filling and plain water; virtually the same thing as with the academy Nemo and Octavia were in previously. The two scooted over to an empty table not far away from the counter and sat down, ready to eat.

"Sweet, tuna is delicious!" Octavia happily digged into the sandwich, while Cici slowly nipped bits of it away, keeping her same bored expression. _I don't understand how she can keep this smile on her face all the cod damn time. How is she so happy about..._ _ **anything**_ _? It's just a sandwich! What's there to be so happy about?_

As Octavia looked around the canteen, her eyes suddenly widened as she spotted a familiar boy sitting at a table just a few feet beside them. She immediately put down what was left of her sandwich and dashed over to the table, "Bro!"

"Hmm?" Nemo looked up from his plate, and a big smile formed on his face as he saw the girl dashing towards him. "Via! I'm so happy to see you again!"

"So am I!" She decelerated slowly to a stop and accepted a hug from him.

"How's life in the academy?" He asked.

"Well, I have a bunkmate to be friends with!" She turned around and waved at Cici, who was still at the table, staring. "C'mon, come meet my brother!" Sighing, Cici pulled herself up from the table and trudged over to the table, weary expression still present. She folded her arms and looked at Nemo, "Now who's this?"

A smirk crawling up his face, Nemo stood straight up and bowed before her somewhat melodramatically, "Nemo Nautilus, at your service."

"..." Cici could not believe what this boy is doing before not just her, but everyone else within the canteen, bowing like a prince receiving a princess. _Is he trying to imitate a fairytale prince or something?_ She remained silent, hoping to clue Nemo that she was not amused. And he seemed to get the clue, because a second later he stood back up and grinned, "Alright, enough of that. Anyway, I hear you're her bunkmate." He directed a finger at Octavia, who was standing behind him, staring curiously with her wide eyes.

"Yep, I am." She nodded.

"Well, I'll have you know I'm her brother."

"Huh. That's something. Now, if that's all you have to say," Cici turned around to face her original table. "I am going back to finish my lunch. Have fun chattering, you two." With that, she walked back to the table, uninterested.

 _Weird gal._ Nemo had never met someone so withdrawn and laid-back to the point of being stoic and empty. "You sure she's good to you, Via?"

"She's kinda quiet, I know, but I think she just needs time to open up." She said optimistically. "We've only met each other two days ago, to boot. So, who's your bunkmate, bro?"

"Oh, he's out som- oh, there he is." Nemo pointed at a small boy walking back towards the table with a bottle of ketchup, who stared nervously at both siblings. "H-Huh?"

"Hey there!" Octavia skipped over to him and held out a hand. "What's your name?"

"Uhm, Trenton Ida." He mumbled, shaking her hand reluctantly.

"Hee hee, nice to meet you!" She greeted cheerfully. "I'm Octavia Nautilus!"

"Nice t-to meet you too." He quickly looked away from her and kept his head low as he trotted over to his and Nemo's table. "Here, some ketchup for the sandwiches."

"Ha, thanks!" Nemo popped open the cap and poured some condiment over the tuna filling, before passing the bottle over to Trenton. As Trenton stirred his water, he looked at Nemo, "So, that girl is your...sister?"

"Got that right." Octavia answered as she walked over, standing beside her brother. "He's my older brother. You're his bunkmate, huh?"

"Y-Yeah." He replied meekly.

"Hrmm, Ida…" Her eyes stared past Trenton in deep thought. "I've heard of someone called 'Elite Engineer Ida' here…"

"O-Oh, that's my sister!" The usually shy boy jumped up with a big smile. "She's the coolest octopus in the world! She's really smart, and builds a lot of cool machines!"

"Alright, calm down now, Trent." Nemo patted his shoulder. "I know you love your sister, but don't gush about her too loudly, yeah? There are still people in here."

"Oh." He bowed his head low and sat back down, realizing he had quite a bit of a geek out in front of everyone. "Excuse that."

"Nah, it's fine! In fact, I find it cute you love your sister so much." Trenton's tentacles curled up at Octavia's comment. _Cute?_

"Wow, that's a veeeery specific word to use." Nemo grinned. "Do you find him…"

"Ergh?! S-Shut up!" Octavia quickly smacked her brother lightly in the head. "I just said it's kind of adorable of him to geek out when it comes to his sister!"

"Alright, alright." He chuckled. "I know what you mean. And yeah, he does worship his sister a lot. Can't blame him; she really is an intelligent engineer and a high-ranking elite. I think she is one of the most respected soldiers in here, if I remember correctly."

"Hoo my. I wonder what she's like." Octavia mused. "She must be really intelligent and serious, if she's so high-ranking."

"Intelligent, yeah. Serious? Eh, half and half. She's pretty nice from what I saw. Not too serious like our old commander." Nemo told her. Octavia nodded, understanding what he meant. In the distance, a few Octolings were walking across the canteen in a somewhat large group.

"You're not actually gonna accept, are you?" One asked.

"Damn man, you got guts to be part of some wacky experiment." Another mumbled.

"What if you die? Or become deformed? Or just turn into some new creature all together?" They seem to be talking about something dangerous.

"Shut up guys, it ain't that bad." The Octoling in front of them assured.

"So, what are you gonna do?" Several Octolings said, constantly pestering him. After a few more seconds of being bombarded with endless questions, the Octoling in the front finally turned around, looking slightly annoyed.

"Look, stop pestering me about some stupid 'experiment'." His tone shifted into a more serious one. "I will do what I've been called to do, regardless of what I think, because I'm loyal to the Octarian Army. If anyone asks me one more question, I'll sock them into the next room." the Octoling told them. Now the small crowd became a larger one, as a few Octolings chuckled and whispered amongst themselves.

"Please Orcus, you aren't a tough guy, and we all know it. It's just that unlike the other nerds, you have some sort of cult following you." A taller, beefier Octoling mocked from the back. He pushed through the crowd until he got to the Octoling, who they knew as Orcus.

"I prefer calling them 'acquaintances', not a cult." Orcus argued.

"They worship you, like some idol. But I know your skills aren't real. You just like to show off that big brain of yours, studying those combat manuals and what not. What're you gonna do, nerd? What, sock me into the next room?"

"Back off, unless you want to cause a ton of chaos in this room."

"Chicken much?" the Octoling asked, leaning in towards his face.

"No. I'm just trying to save your ego. Unless, you really do want me to pummel you straight through the wall…" Orcus answered.

"Ha! That I'd like to s-" The Octoling was interrupted by Orcus' fist connecting with his jaw, sending him tumbling backwards. All who stood behind him moved aside, letting him fall onto the hard canteen ground. Not one person attempted to catch him. As he got up and wiped the ink slowly leaking from his nose, he glared daggers at Orcus, with violent thoughts clouding his mind.

"You're dead, punk." The Octoling muttered viciously before pouncing at Orcus. He was only saved by Nemo, who had stood between the two and held the angry Octoling back with his foot.

"Woah woah woah woah woah! Let's all calm down here for a second. After all, we're all supposed to be one big happy octopus family, am I right?" Nemo asked, chuckling nervously.

"What the shell is he doing?" Cici muttered as she watched from her table, and just like everyone else, had stopped what they were doing. Trenton covered his eyes and leaned on Octavia, who seemed surprised.

"What's wrong?"

"I think Nemo is going to die…" Trenton whimpered, hands still covering his face. In the crowd, the Octoling grabbed Nemo by the neck, hoisting him up into the air. "Any last words, dead meat?"

"Ack...your face looks prettier with the bruises..."

"You're d-" The Octoling felt a surge of energy zap him in the back, and his shouts of agony spread through the whole room. The electricity from the shock hit Nemo as well, who also shouted before falling unconscious. The muscular Octoling dropped to the ground, letting go of a now unconscious Nemo. Orcus kneeled down to his friend, checking for a pulse. He let out a sigh of relief as he felt Nemo still breathing. Behind where the Octoling stood was Marina, who held a small device in her hand. On both sides of her were two pairs of Elite Octolings, armed to the teeth, holding their Octoshots with no emotional expressions on their faces whatsoever.

"Orcus Delfino, your presence has been requested at the lab. Please follow me." She asked kindly, holstering the device to a belt on her hip. Orcus stood from his spot, nodding obediently as he followed. Octavia and Trenton both rushed to Nemo, checking his body for any serious injuries.

"Nemo, you idiot. Why...why did you do that…" Octavia muttered, a few tears falling from her eyes. Trenton, who watched from beside her, immediately noticed Marina amongst the group of Elites escorting Orcus out of the canteen. He rushed over to her, and she immediately saw him.

"Sorry Trent, I have work to do. You can come visit my hab suite later, okay?" Marina told him.

"Marina, are they-"

"Both of them will be fine." She assured. "I...I didn't mean to hit Nemo. I guess he got shocked from contact with the other guy."

"I think he needs hel-"

"Trent, I have to go right now. I'm sorry, I'll visit later." Marina said, and they all exited the canteen, leaving Trenton standing there at the entrance.

* * *

 **At the Lab…**

"Did you get our subject?" Augustus asked, right when he heard the lab doors slide open. Marina, followed by Elite soldiers and Orcus, walked in. Marina set her taser on a nearby desk as she walked over to him.  
"Yeah, he's here. Kinda had to break up a fight at the canteen."

"Hm. His profile didn't mention anything about the subject being a troublemaker…" Augustus remarked.

"Will you please call him by his actual name instead of referring to him as 'subject'?" Marina chastised, but Augustus ignored her, immediately wearing a smile on his face as he came to greet Orcus.

"Welcome Orcus Delfino! How's life here at the academy?" Augustus asked kindly, extending his hand towards the Octoling. Orcus reciprocated, and they shook hands.

"Pretty good. Life's okay, and I'm doing pretty well here."

"'Pretty well'? Your profile doesn't say so. Your profile here says you've excelled over the average Octarian trainee, and that you're one of our top students. So, I'm afraid 'pretty well' is a bit of an understatement, friend."

"Friend?"

"Oh yeah, you might not see it, but we are gonna be great friends in the future. I can see it already. Here, come with me. I want to show you something." Augustus waved, motioning him to follow. He turned his head slightly to look at the Elites guarding him, but their expressionless faces didn't really help. He walked forward, and followed Augustus to another part of the lab where giant tubes were located. Wires were attached all around, and some monitors and computers were hooked up to them.

"Now, I know exactly what you're thinking: this man is insane. He's probably the closest thing I've seen to a mad scientist."

" _He's not wrong…"_ Orcus thought to himself as he listened to Augustus speak.

"Well, my friend, I don't define myself as mad, rather, I believe I'm a genius. You've heard of the Great Turf War, am I correct?"

"Yes."

"Apologies, stupid question. The only way you would not know is if you were living under a rock." Augustus said. Some of the Elites seemed shocked at his comment, but they all quickly reverted to their expressionless selves. Marina just shook her head in disbelief.

"I apologize again. Poor taste in humor, I know." Augustus added, easily realizing how his comment could have been taken as an insult about the current living situation of the Octarian race.

"Anyway...we lost that war. We were winning for the most part as well, and then somehow fate decided 'no, I want the creatures with less tentacles suffer'. But today, that all changes. Now, I studied countless profiles on countless Octarians in Octo Valley, and I noticed one thing: despite our efforts, some soldiers excel while others fall short. In layman's terms, some are weak, and some are stronger. But! I found out a way to collect the strongest warriors we have, and I've managed to find a way to enhance their overall capabilities."

"Like?" Orcus asked, wanting to know more. _Now this is getting interesting..._

"Strength, agility, reflexes, Octopus transformation speeds…the list goes on! I can tweak just about anything I want to, and after selecting certain variables to combine, I think I've found a 'formula' of super soldiers. All I need to do is test it out on some subjects."

"Wait wait wait wait...so you're saying I'm some kind of test subject for some crazy experiment? What if it fails? What if something happens to me?" Orcus asked in a nervous tone. This no longer sounded as interesting as before, and now he wanted nothing to do with it.

"Nothing will happen to you. And do you want to know why, friend? Because I KNOW great things will rise from this. I KNOW that this will help us overthrow our Inkling oppressors, and seat ourselves right back to our rightful place on the surface. Now, what do you say, shall we start this or should I have my Elites shove you in there?" Augustus asked, putting his arm around Orcus' shoulder. Augustus seems like a smart person, but Orcus certainly found him a bit...delusional. Nonetheless, even if he refused, he knows he'll be put in the tube anyway. After all, Augustus easily outranks him, technically making him a superior to Orcus. This meant Augustus could just order Orcus in, and if he disobeyed, punishment was destined to happen. Orcus sighed, realizing it was a lose-lose situation for him. He slowly trudged into the tube, before turning around so he can face the glass. He looked out to see Augustus, who looked like as if he had been waiting a millenium for this event to take place. Marina, who was beside him, looked worried, but nonetheless waved to him and gave him a sad smile, which Orcus returned.

"Fill the tube with the ink and we can start." Augustus commanded Marina, who took a seat in front of a computer and started to type commands in. Orcus looked down as he felt cold ink rush into the tube, filling in from bottom to top. Soon, he was submerged in a fluorescent pink ink, which was clear enough so that he could still see the Octolings surrounding him. Lights inside the tube started to turn on, and Orcus started to get worried.

" _What if I die? What would happen to me? Would my body just disintegrate into nothing? And what about Nemo? I just realized he was here...I...I want to say goodbye just in case...but I can't leave. I'm too far in to go back. Maybe...maybe it won't be so bad…"_ Orcus thought as he suddenly felt sleepy. His eyes started to open and close slowly, until sleep finally overtook him and he fell unconscious...

* * *

 **Oh boy, looks like our characters are in a bit of a situation. Sorry if this chapter felt somewhat short (which it kind of is), but hopefully the next one we write will be a bit longer. I'm hoping to make the next one longer than the previous three, so this could take some time. Also, I've been trying for the most part to update every week or every other week, depending on how busy we are. Anyway, be sure to read the next chapter (when it arrives) to see what happens next! Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, Past**

 **Okay, this time we have a longer chapter, so yay! Also, we got our first review, so that's great. Anyway, I won't bore you with the details, let's just go on with the story.**

* * *

"C'mon, let's go." Cici persuaded Octavia for the fifth time, and got the same reaction for the fifth time. She was starting to get irritated by this girl's stubbornness. "We should head back now."

"My brother's still out cold…" Octavia mumbled sadly, holding her unconscious brother's hand. "I want to wait till he wakes up."

"Please everyone, make way!" A squad of five white-clad Octolings rushed into the canteen, with the others promptly moving aside for them. "We got word that two soldiers are in need of treatment."

"And that would be this guy," Cici pointed at Nemo, and then shifted her finger to the other Octoling, who had yet to wake up either. "And that one."

"Very well then." The tallest one among the paramedics bent down to face Octavia, "Lady, please leave the patient alone with us. We'll take him to the infirmary for treatment."

"B-But he's my brother! I want to stay with him till he wakes up!" She protested.

"Octavia, please." Cici sighed. "You're whining like a kid in front of trained soldiers. Obey instructions when they're given to you."

"We will inform you as soon as possible when he wakes up." The paramedic kindly assured Octavia. "For now, everyone, please head back to your dorms. We'll take care of this mess."

"...Alright." Reluctantly, she let go of Nemo's hand, allowing the paramedics to load him into a stretcher and take him away to wherever the infirmary is. Slowly, the crowd dispersed to their own business of finishing their meals, getting their belongings or heading back to their dorms as instructed.

"Well, what a day…" Cici grabbed her half full glass of water and faced Octavia, who was seated on a chair. "Alright, let's head back."

"Yeah." The two girls walked back to their dorms to get some rest before they had to do chores for the next few hours.

* * *

 **Later…**

"Uugh…" Nemo's eyes slowly opened and blurry light flooded his vision. Energy still sapped, he blinked. And then again. And then again. With each blink, his vision focused until he could see clearly again. He adjusted his position slightly and saw the white walls and the single white-clad Octoling standing beside the bed he was in. _Yep, definitely got myself into the hospital…_

"Ah, you've woken up!" The medic announced. "Your sister was worried sick!"

"Um… remind me what happened." He said in a slurred up tone.

"Well, you got into a fight with someone and one of our Elites had to use the tazer on him. You must have been caught in the shock."

Memories began to flood back to Nemo and he smacked himself on the head. "Of course, I should've known that guy was beyond reasoning…"

"At least you did try to diffuse the conflict. I will applaud you for that courage. Anyway!" The medic scrawled something down on a clipboard. "We promised your sister that we will inform her ASAP when you wake up, so be talkin' to you later." With that, she rushed out of the door, leaving Nemo alone in the cold room. The loneliness did not last long, though, as a familiar Octoling peeked his head into the room. "Nemo!"

Nemo turned his head to face the door and smiled welcomingly, "Orcus Delfino, my friend. It's good to see you again. C'mon in, we've got quite a bit of stuff to talk about."

Orcus walked in and grabbed a red stool from a stack near the door and placed it near Nemo's bed to sit down beside him. Taking a deep breath, he began to speak, "Well, two years…it's been a while, huh?"

"We all thought you couldn't get out of that place when it was collapsing!" Nemo shuddered at the memories. "We counted everyone, and you weren't there!"

"I know, I'm sorry." Orcus looked away with a remorseful face. "I was trapped under there, and it took me a while to get out of there, and no one was around when I finally did. I had to survive on the streets for a few days."

"Man, two years alone," Nemo grabbed his palm. "It must've been hard for you, huh?"

"I was close to starving to death, until a bunch of Octoling soldiers found me." Orcus continued to narrate. "I begged them to give me some food, and one of them convinced her group to bring me back to their academy in Beaker's Depot. There, their superior gave me a deal: I will be given an adequate life in the academy, but I will have to serve as a soldier, unsurprisingly. I accepted their offer, and thus I began to train and work there."

"So that's how it is…" Nemo nodded thoughtfully. "You're lucky those soldiers decided to bring you in, or who knows what would've happened to you."

"Yeah, I know." Orcus shivered. "Guess fate decided to show mercy on an Octarian for once, huh?"

"Yeah." With that, both friends shared a hearty chuckle, but soon Nemo's expression turned serious once again. "So, I heard some of your uh, 'acquaintances', saying you're about to be part of some crazy experiment. Mind telling me what's all of that fuss about?"

"Eh, it was something set up by Lord Augustus himself."

Nemo's mind clicked and he recalled the experiment Augustus showed in Marina's lab. "Oh, that."

"You've heard about it?" Orcus raised a brow in curiosity.

"When I and Via were first transferred here, I was paired up with a boy named Trenton. He's Marina Ida's little brother."

"Ah, that insanely smart engineer."

"W-Wow, you talk about her so casually." Nemo chuckled. "She's one of the most respected elites here."

"Eh, what's weird with that?" Orcus shrugged. "Anyway, so her brother's your bunkmate, huh? So it appears you have uh, 'early access' to a high-ranking elite. Happy with yourself?"

"Cut it, dude. So yeah, Marina is working with Augustus for his new experiment, which is the one you're in. He says he can enhance your skills, like stamina, strength, all of that. Is it true?"

"I don't know." Orcus shook his head. "Eh, we'll see during training session."

"Nemo!" Both boys looked up at the door to find Octavia, panting and sweating. She quickly dashed into the room and gave her brother a hug, "Thank cod!"

"H-Hey, come on now, I'm alright." He returned the hug. "There's no need to worry."

Octavia exhaled a sigh of relief before letting him go, but she kept holding his palm. Beside them, Orcus smiled at the sight of yet another old friend, "You two are still the two loving siblings I know in the orphanage. Glad to see you two haven't grew distant."

"Heh, we're still close, even when this place forces us apart." Octavia then smiled warmly at Orcus. "It's good to see you again, Orcus. Thank goodness you're alive." She then gave her friend a hug.

"Good to see you two again as well. It's been a long while." He returned the hug.

"So, where's your bunkmate, Via?" Nemo asked as she let Orcus go.

"She's at the shooting range. She seems to like Chargers and Shooters."

"That's interesting. Has she started actually talking with you?"

"Eh, she's still kinda quiet."

"I wonder what's up with her." Nemo folded his arms. "I've never seen a girl this withdrawn."

"I think she's just the quiet type. There are people who just don't like to speak." Orcus interjected.

"Eh, whatever." Nemo said after some silence. "As Via said, it's gonna take some time for some people to warm up to others."

* * *

 **A Few Minutes Later…**

"If you seem to have any recurring pain later, please come back in case we perhaps missed something." The medic told Nemo right as he, Octavia, and Orcus were leaving the infirmary.

"Yes sir." Nemo answered respectfully. He didn't know where medics were ranked, but he assumed that medics were ranked above him. The trio left the infirmary, all happy to see each other alive and well.

"Phew, I'm glad I didn't have to stay in there for long. I mean, just imagine what I would have to go through…" Nemo said, his voice trailing off.

"Better hope you don't get any 'recurring pains', or you'll be forced to go back." Orcus teased, playfully elbowing his old friend. Nemo and Octavia both chuckled, happy that Orcus was here with them. They were finally all united.

"Wait, what time is it?" Nemo asked.

"Hmm...I would assume it's time for our daily training…" Octavia guessed, looking up at the ceiling as she tried to think. There was a few seconds of silence before Orcus spoke.

"How about we just go to the training facilities and see if people are there? That way, we can see if we're right or not."

"Sounds good." Both siblings agreed. It took a few minutes for them to walk to the training facilities, where they saw countless Octarian trainees training for battle, training to become soldiers who will fight for the King with undying loyalty.

"Welp, my question has been answered." Nemo said. An officer noticed the three standing at the entrance, and the look on his face easily showed his slight disappointment at their tardiness.

"Cadets! Are you gonna stand there and flap your gums aimlessly or are you gonna get some work done here!? Get a move on you good for nothing idiots!"

"Yes sir!" All three said in unison and immediately joined the rest of the Octolings there. The whole training grounds were organized into sections, some parts with different Octarians like Octotroopers and their variants while others had the Octoling trainees. Right now, the Octolings in Nemo's area were doing push ups.

"Ugh, not these again…"

"Nemo, I have to go to the female area. I'll meet you guys later." Octavia told them before running off. They immediately lost her in the sea of Octolings, all doing different exercises assigned by their superiors.

"Come on you donkeys, get a move on!" the officer shouted. Many of the Octolings shouted "yes sir!" while others remained silent, their aching muscles serving too much of a distraction to respond.

"20...21...22...23…" Nemo muttered, counting each push up as he did them. He looked over to his side where Orcus was, and noticed his Octoling friend cranking out the pushups easily.

" _How...wait, Augustus' experiment! But I thought it was for combat only, surely the 'strength and stamina' part doesn't mean other things too…"_

"HEY, I'm talking to you!" The officer shouted in Nemo's face, interrupting his thoughts as he quickly turned his head around to look the officer in the eyes.

"So I'm right here, I see all of these cadets doing their exercises like they're told, and here I see a little fuckface like you just staring at your fellow teammate. I don't know what you think you're doing here, but this isn't a date you moron! GET BACK TO DOING YOUR PUSH UPS GODDAMNIT!"

"Y-yes sir!" Nemo said, stuttering as he said so. He now lost count, and just decided to go back to one. On the corner of his eye, Nemo could see Orcus wasn't really slowing down any time soon. Actually, he could have sworn Orcus was going faster. Eventually, the officer told everyone to stand up, and they all listened as he gave further instructions.

"Everyone gather up. Come on, faster you dunderheads, we don't have all day. Now, I'll be choosing random cadets I see here, and when I choose you, you two will fight until one of you is defeated. Understand?"

"YES SIR!" They all shouted in unison, and the officer nodded. He started looking around the crowd, scanning his eyes for anything interesting. Finally, he pointed at one area of the small crowd before pointing at another. Everyone made space as they watched the two Octolings walk forward and take their stances.

"Alright, when an Inkling comes at you, and you both don't have any weapons, that Inkling will come charging at you with fists and fury. What you all need to know is some hand-to-hand combat experiences. Unfortunately, some of you aren't so skilled in that. That's why I'm here to CHANGE that. Now, FIGHT!" the officer ordered, and both Octolings charged at each other. One was slightly taller than the other, and seemed to be slightly more muscular and well-built. The other was more of an average height for an Octoling, and seemed a bit skinnier. He also didn't seem all that strong either. The shorter one swung at the taller Octoling, who simply grabbed his fist before picking him up over his head and slamming the shorter Octoling down on the ground behind him. The shorter Octoling slowly crawled up, some green ink seeping from his nose as he started to throw several punches. The taller Octoling took the blows casually, before slamming his foot down onto the shorter one's chest. This knocked the air out of the shorter Octoling, who gasped and attempted to forcibly move his opponent's foot off. The taller Octoling grabbed the shorter one by the tentacles and hauled him above the ground, watching as his shorter and weaker opponent started to flail his arms and legs in a futile attempt to land a good hit. The taller one then started repeatedly making strong, quick, and powerful blows on his opponent.

"Done yet?" The taller Octoling sneered. However, the shorter one, despite slightly shaking from the pain of the recent blows, his face with ink smeared all over his mouth and nose area, answered bravely, "Not yet. You want a piece of me, big stuff?"

"Heh, tough little shrimp, aren't you? Alright, I feel bad for something like you having to suffer like this. So, let's end this miserable life." The taller one grinned as he grabbed the shorter one's shoulder with his other hand. He then raised him high above his head, before he made a quick twist of his wrist and snapped the poor Octoling's head backwards. Many of the trainees watching grimaced and looked away while the taller one slammed his opponent's body to the floor, stepping on it like a welcome mat.

"Anyone else want to fight me?" The taller Octoling asked, but no one answered. Everyone looked away or just remained silent, while others sadly looked at the dead Octoling. However, Nemo was focused on the victorious Octoling instead. "Orcus…"

"What?" He looked at his friend.

"Don't you recognize him…" Nemo asked, pointing to the tall Octoling who had just won the brutal fight. Orcus' eyes widened as he realized who Nemo was talking about. _Oh no..._

"How could I forget? I just couldn't see his face during the fight…" Orcus said, as he realized the Octoling who won was Owen Octopoda, the same Owen who lived in the Orphanage with them. Nemo crumbled to his knees and clutched his head, realizing in horror that now both him and Octavia had come here for no reason at all. _They're still here..._

* * *

 **Octarian King Palace...**

"Augustus, when I agreed to allow you to continue with your project, I didn't mean you can CREATE KILLING MACHINES!" Octavio yelled, clearly angry. Augustus was emotionless as he stood in front of his uncle, who sat on his kingly throne. It was a very extravagant room, and most Octolings would die to be in front of the King like this. But right now, Augustus wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Killing machine?" Augustus shook his head. "Harsh to call one of your own kind a 'machine' rather than a living being."

"And yet he heartlessly kills a cadet in a TRAINING BATTLE!? Where's the humanity in such an act!?" Octavio asked furiously, slamming his tentacles on the armrests.

"Uncle, do you not know the term 'survival of the fittest'? While that applies to nature, it does apply in our environment as well. Looking at the recordings of the fight and the files of the Octoling that died participating, I can see he wasn't the most...strong and skilled. My soldier, however, was stronger, smarter, and more skilled, even before the experiment. So let me ask you, why should this term only fit in nature when it can also fit in here?" Augustus asked his uncle, but Octavio was not impressed.

"Augustus, what your soldier did was inhumane, my boy. Even though that Octoling wasn't as strong, just imagine how LOYAL he would have been, how great of an impact he could have been to us."

"Impact? Please, an Octoling like that makes as much of an impact as foam does when you drop it off the edge of a table. Sure, that cadet could have been a loyal soldier, but what's the point if he's not strong enough to defend you? How do you expect to defeat the Inkling scum when you keep these weaklings around?"

"I'm not interested in defeating the Inklings, nor overtaking the surface. My mere interest lies in solving our power source problem. You are so clouded in your ideas of Inklings and wanting to take them down that you can't just understand or see the more important things right in front of your face!" Octavio yelled, leaning in as he did so. He glared at Augustus, clearly disappointed. But Augustus returned another bone-chilling glare at his uncle, enraged by his words.

"Don't tell me I can't understand or see things in front of me! I can see that problem, I can! But I can also see BEYOND our current problem, something _YOU_ CAN'T! I WONDER, WHEN WILL YOUR INCOMPETENCE TO LEAD FINALLY SHOW ITSELF!? Lemme guess, when the Inklings are knocking on our doorstep, TAKING WHATEVER WE HAVE LEFT!? No, I'm not allowing that. They've done it once, but they ain't doing it again as long as I'M around! I can see the future, and I KNOW what I must do to keep our species alive. Good day, uncle." Augustus swiftly and angrily turned around and trudged out of the throne room. DJ Octavio released a heavy sigh of frustration and rested his head on a tentacle. He loves Augustus; after all, he's one of the only family he has left. Now, Octavio doesn't know what to do to make sure Augustus doesn't go too far with his experiments. Sure, he can issue a shutdown, but Octavio knew, deep inside, that Augustus would find some way to get around his limitations.

Augustus trudged into the lab, his footsteps easily telling all who passed by to steer clear. He finally got to the lab, the only place he felt relaxed. When he arrived, he saw Marina working on something she called a "Flooder". Hearing the doors open, Marina stopped welding parts together and took her welding mask off, looking concerned.

"Oh, you're back. How...how did it go?" Marina asked. Something told her he was not up for daily jokes and chit-chat right now.

"Fine. Perfect. Ugh." Augustus mumbled, plopping down on a chair beside her. Marina didn't really understand what his answer meant, so she turned back to continue her work.

"You know, I don't say this much, but I feel you're the only person here keeping me sane." Augustus said out of the blue. Marina, shocked, pulled off her welding mask and dropped her materials on the table.

"Oh?"

"I'm serious. You're...the light of my life. There, I said it. I love you."

"Augustus, I-" Marina was interrupted as Augustus pulled her into a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her, and the sudden movement of his lips making contact with hers shocked her. He stayed for a couple of seconds before pulling away, leaving Marina speechless.

"Look, I'm sorry about that...I just had a rough day." Augustus turned away to the entrance. "I won't do it again if you don't want me to. I gotta go." He walked away, leaving the lab, and Marina, alone. Speechless, Marina just sat there, staring at the double doors for the rest of her time there.

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

"Nemo, are you okay?" Trenton looked at his friend in concern. "You look...well, you look like me during CQC drills." Nemo quickly shut the door behind him before flopping onto his bed like a fish. His left arm hung from the side, and he stared into the ceiling for what seemed like an eternity to him.

 _How could this all go so wrong? My plan was perfect...getting me and Via out of our old life, starting new. Do I always need to be reminded of my past? Can't I just forget about it already?_

"Nemo?" The Octoling immediately snapped out of his trance, and turned his head to face Trenton. Trenton had his head tilted to the side in confusion, and his face echoed worry. He was slowly swinging his legs back and forth as he sat on the edge of his bed.

"Sorry, I was just...thinking, that's all." Nemo rubbed his face with a palm.

"Okay. Did something happen? I heard an Octoling died today at training during a CQC drill. Was he your friend?" Trenton ask curiously.

"No, he wasn't. Didn't even know who he was; all I know is that I feel bad for anyone who WAS his friend."

"Well, um, I just wanted to say that seeing that happen makes me...nervous about CQC drills and just combat training overall. I'm scared, Nemo. I don't want to do this anymore, I just want to live somewhere else with Marina." Trenton told him. Nemo felt bad; he could easily relate. He also wanted to live somewhere else with Octavia, where they could leave their miserable, melancholy past behind and just continue on with their lives happily. He would love that to happen right now. If only it were true…

He then looked at Trenton. The poor boy looked like he was about to break down in tears. He couldn't bear to see him suffer the same fate one day. He never tries to anger anyone, and he definitely does not want a fight at any cost. He never got on anyone's bad side. He did nothing to deserve a brutal ending like that. _No._ Nemo will not let that happen. He will not sit there and watch his friend end like that.

Nemo got up and grabbed Trenton by his shoulders, "Look Trenton, I'll be your sparring partner from now on, okay? And if anyone else would like to go against that, they'll have to go through me. You're not going to get hurt. I promise." Through Trenton's forlorn expression, Nemo could see the Octoling cheer up, and he could've sworn he saw a smile.

"Thank you. You really are my best friend."

"Heh, no problem." Nemo responded, laying back down and closing his eyes for a nap.

* * *

 **Octo Valley, Elsewhere…**

"I don't get it. Why am I scouting HERE of all places? Why bother scouting ANYWHERE at all? The Great Turf War is over and the Inklings know they've won, they wouldn't be coming here anyway!" A female Octoling grumbled, annoyed at the job she was given. She was accompanied by two Octotroopers, one on each side of her. They scouted the upper areas where the kettles were located, each kettle leading to a dome where their brethren lived.

"Sir, section 7 of this rock formation looks clear." One of the troopers reported.

"That's **Ma'am** to you, thank you very much. Wait, actually, don't call me 'ma'am ', you make me sound old." The Octoling responded, waving her accomplices away. The Octotroopers obeyed and backed up a bit to give her space as she sat on a rock. She looked over the edge, and all she could see was a sea of clouds, with tons of small and large rock formations dotting the sky. She could see some trees that have grown on them, and if she squinted she could see birds flying back and forth between rocks. Long rocks shaped like giant octopus tentacles stretched over the sky, weaving through the clouds. In her opinion, it felt relaxing to see this, to see the closest thing she could get to the surface.

"It's beautiful." she remarked, smiling. The Octoling removed her goggles, which Octavio had just recently assigned. Supposedly, they're for improving accuracy, but she heard from rumors that the King's nephew was working on versions that brainwash the user for use on traitors. She personally thought the nephew sounded delusional, and hoped these were just silly rumors.

"When I get the chance, I want to go to the surface. I'm sick of being a soldier, sick of having to train and scout for 'Inkling menaces'. I just want to go somewhere else." She told herself, staring into the horizon. She then started to notice movement. In a rock formation, not too far from the one she was on but still a considerable distance, she could see moving figures. She could tell they weren't birds, they were too big. Turning to one of the Octoroopers, she spotted what she needed: one of them had a pair of binoculars tied around its neck.

"You there, come here! I need those binoculars." She ordered in the nicest way possible, not that the Octotroopers really cared. They weren't really smart at all, and are pretty much just born to be mindless, mass produced soldiers. Peeking through the binoculars, she zoomed in on the figures in the distance, and almost leapt back at what she saw.

"Oh my cod, are those...Inklings!?" she muttered in shock. She could see them now; both were wearing bright neon vests and held weapons. However, they looked different, with one sporting a pink beanie while the other had a green hat.

"Inklings...they're really here. I have to report this to HQ!" But wait, what if this is my chance to go to the surface? Ugh, but then I'll be labeled a traitor, and if I'm caught, who knows what would happen! I could be turned into a weird experiment for that cray nephew people talked about." The Octoling mumbled to herself, while the Octotroopers just stood there mindlessly, probably waiting for orders. She finally made up her mind, and grabbed her Octoshot. As she walked towards the edge, she turned to the two Octotroopers she was with.

"You two may return to base. I have business to deal with and will return soon." She told them, before Super Jumping towards the Inklings in the distance...

* * *

 **Well, looks like Nemo and Octavia couldn't get stay away from old enemies long, and it looks like Orcus survived Augustus' experiment! Also, who's that Octoling at the end? You'll find out soon on the next chapter! Also, I'll answer our first review**

 **EagleByte: thank you for your review, and we'll do our best to keep this story interesting**

 **Anyway, we really do appreciate reviews as it does help us out, and we do take questions so ask away! If you have any questions or concerns, we can and will answer them the best we can. Anyway, goodbye for now, and be sure to check in for the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Freedom to the Surface...Almost**

 **More All Aboard the Nautilus for everyone! And Happy (late) Valentine's Day! Anyways, to answer a question from houzwa, that Octoling actually isn't part of the OPS (Octoling Peace Squad). If you want to know what happens to her, you can see the details in the chapter!**

 **Note: For the third part, bold text indicates Octarian language.**

* * *

"Okay Octavia, let me get this straight: you and Nemo both transferred here to get away from Owen, right?"

"Yeah. A shame that it was all for nothing in the end…" Octavia answered. She bowed her head in dismay at the news Orcus had just told her just a few minutes ago. She hadn't seen Nemo around, apparently because he was out doing things with Trenton while his sister worked hard on some new machines approved by DJ Octavio. So now Octavia was at the shooting range, watching Cici test out her sharp shooting skills from the back. Orcus just happened to walk by and they talked for a few minutes, which was what was happening now.

"I wouldn't say it's all bad. After all, you found out I was alive, right? And you two seem to be happy with your roommates."

"Yeah, I guess so. It's just, Cici is hard to talk to. She doesn't really talk to me at ALL, come to think of it, and all we do is follow each other around. See, right now's a perfect example. I followed her here to the shooting range because I didn't want to be alone, but I'm not even doing anything." Octavia hugged her knees as she curled up into a ball, sitting on the bench where no one but Orcus was.

"Then why don't you join her? I'm assuming you aren't a terrible shot, are you?"

"So what if I join her? She's not going to interact with me, and we aren't going to talk. Every time I try to spark a conversation, she just ignores me or just replies out of boredom. I think she finds me annoying."

"Well, maybe she's an introvert. Just give her time, you two have barely known each other and it's only been a few days. Maybe she'll warm up to you."

"Yeah, maybe." Octavia said, a small smile forming on her face. Orcus' words gave her some hope, and she turned and watched as Cici fired her Octo Shot and hit two out of the three moving targets. Orcus tried to speak, but was interrupted by the intercom.

"Orcus Delfino and Owen Octopoda, please report to command center immediately for mission briefing." A female voice ordered. Automatically, many Octolings in the area turned their heads to look at the speaker located near the ceiling of the range. Orcus and Octavia were both surprised by what they had heard.

"What do you have to do with Owen?" Octavia asked Orcus, who looked just as confused, if not more than, she was.

"And what did she mean by 'mission briefing'?" Orcus mumbled to himself.

"I don't know, but you better hurry up." Octavia told him, but Orcus was already out the door.

* * *

"Welcome, my loyal soldiers!" Augustus greeted in his ever boisterous manner as both Orcus and Owen stepped into his office. "Now, take a seat, please." He gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk. Orcus caught a dirty glare from Owen as he sat down, but said nothing about it; they had to focus on their mission for now. The petty rivalries come later.

"So what's the catch?" Owen did not bother hiding the fact that he was very much objected to being paired up with this stupid goody two-shoes. But hey, at least he can probably bust some liquid skulls of those Inkling bastards. He had wanted to splat a filthy squid for a long time.

"Listen up, boys. A few Octotrooper scouts at Octo Valley caught sight of two Inklings heading for Sector 2. Yep, you heard me, Inklings!" Owen grinned sadistically at his superior's confirmation. "Apparently, their Octoling superior left them to go confront the squids herself, but she has yet to return. Normally, we would've sent out some minor troops down at the Valley to deal with 'em, but now is your time to shine, soldiers! I'm certain that with this new experiment of mine, you two can take care of them effortlessly. You know what to do, soldiers."

"Yes sir." Both of them responded.

"Now go." Augustus waved them away. Both soldiers obediently stood up and walked out of the room.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Owen grabbed Orcus by his left shoulder and slammed him against the wall. "Listen up, Orcus; we get this job done, get back to the 'cademy in one piece, and our little truce is over. Don't think I'm happy to work with ya."

"I'm not happy to work with you either," Orcus returned a glare at him. "But for now, let's put aside our petty differences and catch those Inklings. After we return, you can fight me all you want, but not now. We've got a job to take care of."

"Of course I know that, you moron." Owen released his grip. "Let's go."

* * *

 **Meanwhile, Octo Valley…**

"Gramps had better be correct. We had to be dragged away from our break to this." Agent 2 grumbled through her facemask.

"Aw c'mon, this is fun!" Agent 1 tried to cheer up her partner. "Plus, we never know. Don't come panicking in front of my face if those Octo-jerks did steal the Great Zapfish!"

"How can you be so upbeat when talking about something like that, Cal?!" Agent 2 reprimanded her. "You know the Great Zapfish powers practically all of Inkopolis!"

"I'm not upbeat, I'm just confident!"

"No you're not! I swear, you don't know when to be serious and whe-"

Agent 2 immediately went silent at the signature _whoosh_ of a Super Jump. Other than them, there should not be any other Inklings in Octo Valley. Unless...  
"Well look who we have here." Agent 2 muttered as she pointed her Hero Charger at the Octoling soldier before them. The Octoling, in response, yanked an Octo Shot off her belt...and tossed it towards her enemies.

"What?!" Agent 1 lowered her Hero Roller and looked at the Octoling, who tugged off her metal goggles too, exposing her large cyan eyes. As she took a few steps toward the agents, Agent 2 fired a shot at the ground near her, "Back off!"

" **Wait, please!** " The Octoling begged in her native tongue.

"I said scram!" Agent 2 repeated with a louder tone.

Agent 1 took the initiative and dashed over to the muzzle of her partner's weapon and gently pushed it down, "Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa, hold it there!"

"Agent 1, are you crazy?!" Agent 2 looked at her. "She's an Octoling!"

"She surrendered her weapon to us!" Agent 1 argued back. "She means no harm!"

"Yeah right, she's just trying to get us lower our guard and then splat us! You can trust her all you want, but I'm not gonna be fooled!" Agent 2 glared at the Octoling, who was shaking slightly at her place.

"Marie, enough!" Agent 1 set a forceful hand on the Charger. "Please just let me speak with her for a while, okay? You don't have to worry for me; I can defend myself if she does try to splat me. Just let me talk to her, and see what she wants."

After some thought, Agent 2 lowered her Charger and turned away from the Octoling. "Go ahead. Stay safe, 1."

"Oh cuz, you always worry for me…" Agent 1 walked towards the Octoling, who was still frozen in her spot, but she seemed to have calmed down now, as evidenced by her blank stare having replaced her fearful one. Agent 1 looked at the soldier through her sunglasses and began to speak in some decent Octarian taught by their leader, " **So, what do you want?** "

" **I uh...I've always wondered what the city of Inklings looks like**." She answered meekly.

" **Oh? You mean Inkopolis?** " Agent 1 raised a brow.

" **I've always wanted to go there. I believe it's amazing there.** "

"Alright, that's enough." Agent 2 immediately interrupted. "If she's thinking about us taking her to Inkopolis, she's probably braindead."

"Marie!" Agent 1 yelled, furious at her partner's words. "Don't say that! Plus, I believe she means no harm and she really just wants to leave the hellhole she's been living in!"

"If she thinks the New Squidbeak Splatoon is that stupid, then she's wrong!" Agent 2 pointed her Charger at the Octoling, who squeaked in fear. "We are _not_ letting an Octarian into the city! She could be planning something and we don't know yet!"

"Marie, come on! Why can't you just see she's harmless?" Agent 1 was getting more and more frustrated at her stubbornness. "Why can't you just give her a chance?"

"They are the enemy, Gramps told us ever since we were little squids!"

"But what if things changed? What if people really do want to make peace, and we're just the ones carrying on with the war?"

Another Super Jump interrupted the argument. The ground thumped as a large, beefy Octoling that towered all three of them by a whole foot landed directly behind the other Octoling. His sadistic grin unnerved even Agent 2, whose grip on her Charger was starting to become shaky.

" **Trying to run away, I see?** " Owen hoisted the Octoling girl up by grabbing her neck. " **Too bad. Don't you know,** " He took out a sharp device from his belt. " **That treason is punished by death?** "

" **Wait, stop!** " The girl pleaded through her gasping and choking.

Owen did not even say anything as he stabbed the poor soldier on the left side of her chest. Fuchsia ink gushed out as she scream in agony. After that, he hastily yanked the device out of her and threw her onto the ground. " **This is what you get for trying to betray your people, traitor.** "

"OHMYCOD!" As shaken as she was by the sudden attack on the Octoling, Agent 1 immediately charged towards the taller one despite her partner's protests, Roller ready to splat. "YOU MONSTER!" She flung a wave of green ink at her enemy, but he took it like nothing and instead kicked her away to the ground behind her. She grabbed her abdomen and gasped as her liquid ribs rang in agony, while the Octoling laughed. " **Trying to splat me? Not so easy, filthy squid!** "

"Hey, big stuff!" Agent 2 fired a shot at the Octoling's head, which ought to pack a bigger punch. The Octoling grunted a little, but soon both agents found themselves in trouble as another Octoling landed beside him. He was much smaller than the taller guy and at least seemed to match the agents' sizes, but he immediately charged towards the vulnerable Agent 1, Octo Shot aimed at her. In a moment of panic, Agent 1 clubbed her Roller against his forehead, making him stumble backwards in pain. As she raised her Roller for a proper splat, the Octoling quickly recovered and impressively backflipped his way out of the wave of ink. Agent 2 pointed her Charger at him, but his astonishing speed helped him to dodge the shots of green ink. The taller Octoling chucked a Splat Bomb at Agent 2, forcing her to roll out of radius of the explosion. Agent 1 threw a Burst Bomb at him, but to her shock, he slapped it back at her like a volleyball. He charged at Agent 1, and she was about to smash him with her Roller when he grabbed the top part of the handle with one hand and her face with the other. He then tore the Roller from her grip before tossing the Inkling aside. Agent 2 fired two more shots, but the taller Octoling raised the Roller and started slamming down at her, forcing Agent 2 to dodge his strikes. In defense, she raised her Charger and used it to block another strike.

" **Foolish Inklings.** " He mocked. " **What do you hope to accomplish here?** "

" **Ack...that's classified…** " Agent 2 answered bravely in Octarian.

" **Hm, fair enough.** " The taller Octoling replied, and rose the Roller again and slammed down on Agent 2's Charger, snapping it in half. Just as he started to close in on the helpless squid, the Octoling with the stab wound tackled at the taller one, grabbing his face and pulling his head back.

" **Get off me, you traitorous garbage!** " The taller Octoling roared. He grabbed her head and pulling her up above him and soon, she was face to face with him.

" **Please, let me go...I won't tell the Inklings anything, I just want to have a good life…** "

" **Sorry, piece of trash. I should bury you further underground than the rest of us are.** " and with that, the taller Octoling shoved his fist into the stab wound. He felt around her soft organs until he found what he wanted: her ink sac. She barely had any time to react before he crushed it, making the Octoling girl throw up dark colored ink all over the ground, falling like a waterfall. The tall Octoling then dropped her body, where it laid limp.

"NO!" Agent 1 exclaimed helplessly from the side. Agent 2 was fighting the second Octoling in the distance.

"What the hell is that big guy made of?!" Agent 2 was both surprised and getting irritated at him shrugging off their attacks like nothing. "We can't seem to splat him!"

"Well then we gotta retreat!" Agent 1 readjusted her beanie. "We gotta report this to Gramps! But first," She bravely ran full speed towards the injured Octoling girl, ignoring the pain in her and Agent 2's warnings, and picked her up. The tall Octoling noticed her and swiped at the Inkling, but she slid underneath his legs and ran back to join her comrade. She could see that she was still breathing, only barely. Not wasting any more time, she dashed back to over Agent 2, ignoring the other Octoling firing his Octo Shot at her. "C'mon, let's go!" Both Inklings quickly scrambled away back towards their leader's shack, but with each second, the Octoling founded it harder to breathe.

" **Please, hang on!** " Agent 1 pleaded through her tears. " **We'll save you.** "

" **Th-thank you.** " The girl struggled to speak with her last breaths. " **Can you answer me a question...one question.** "

" **Of course, what is it?** " Agent 1 asked, trying to sound happy and keep the Octoling focused on breathing.

" **Is Inkopolis...a magical place?** " This question shocked both agents. Never had they imagined an Octarian would describe the Inklings' home with such words. They thought all Octarians hated Inklings with their guts. _Guess not all of them are like that._

" **Of course it is.** " Agent 1 struggled to put on a cheerful tone. " **Day or night, the city always has something you can see and talk about. Turf Wars, Splatfests, video games...there's never nothing to do in Inkopolis. And at night, there's these beautiful lights that just make the city so bright, and everyone is so welcoming and kind. It's the place to be, no matter what you're doing.** "

" **Well, I am...glad it's like...that. It seems...my elders thought wrong. I...I wish I could see them. The lights. And the stuff there...** "

" **You, can, just hang on! We'll get you to a hospital and everything will be fine!** "

" **I don't think I can live…"**

" **No, please, you can do this, just keep breathing! What's your name?** " Agent 1 asked the Octoling, trying her best to distract her from the thought of death.

" **My name is Angelia."**

" **That's a beautiful name. Here, we just need to get you through the kettle to the Plaza, and we'll all be good.** "

" **Thank you, Inklings…** "With that, the Octoling shut her eyes, curved her lips into a smile, and gave out her final breath.

"N-No, wait, please!" Agent 1 shook the Octoling, but there was no response from her. "PLEASE! WE HAVEN'T BROUGHT YOU TO INKOPOLIS YET!"  
"Callie, leave it!" Agent 2 convinced her, but this time with a heartbroken tone, no malice hinted at all. "I'm sorry that we couldn't save her too, but we can't do anything now. She's gone." She then said something that surprised Agent 1. "I should've trusted her. Have I trusted her, she wouldn't have died like that. It was my fault. All my fault…"

"Marie, don't say it's your fault." Callie spoke through her tears. "Like you said, we can't do anything about it now. Least we can do...is to give her a proper burial."

"Y-Yeah." With that, both agents stood up and trudged back towards their base.

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

"What do you mean 'don't advance'? We had them, coddamnit, WE HAD THEM IN OUR GRASP!" Owen shouted angrily. Orcus kept a straight face, unfazed by his lash of anger.

"We won, and they retreated. Our mission was to get them away from Octarian territory, and that's what we did."

"You're such a softie, aren't you now?" Owen asked, leaning towards his partner.

"Killing that girl was completely unnecessary, Owen. She did nothing wrong."

"Nothing wrong? She betrayed our kind, HER KIND! She deserved to die and you know it."

"Punishment for betraying the Octarians is imprisonment, not death. And why should she be forced to live in Octo Valley? There's almost nothing redeemable about the domes we live in, about our power crisis, about our corrupt leaders."

"Better watch your mouth, or you could end up in deep trouble, you scum." Owen told Orcus before Super Jumping away into the distance. Orcus watched him disappear before limping down on a nearby rock and sitting on it. He looked over at the puddle of ink that should have been in the Octoling girl's ink sac, and as the memories of the fight came back to him, he threw up. Orcus wiped his mouth, disgusted and ashamed of the horrible death she got. He watched the sun start to set as he questioned whether the things he was doing were right, or wrong…

* * *

 **Cephalon Military Academy…**

"See now, soldiers? _This_ is what you get if you ever try to betray the army!" Augustus roared at the crowd of Octolings gathered in front of the stage. Beside him, Owen stood straight and firm, proud of his deed.

"So if any of you even have thoughts of running away, you'd better scrap 'em, lest you end up just like that traitorous bastard." All of the Octolings shuddered as they imagined themselves ending like that. Some wailed, others bawled, but the brave ones remained silent. Cici and Octavia were amongst the crowd, having been called to the assembly. Octavia was shaking in fear, while Cici stood silent with an emotionless face. No funeral was to be held for the Octoling that had perished, only mockery. Cici felt as if this was overkill, and she wondered if the Octoling would just be forgotten, turned into a mere footnote in a history book.

Cici and Octavia left for their dorm, where the two remained silent about the assembly. It wasn't until a few minutes of silence later that one of them spoke.

"Doesn't the news frighten you?" Octavia asked curiously to her roommate.

"No, of course not. Why should it when I'm going to remain loyal to the Octarian cause anyway? That Octoling knew what was coming for her."

"But what if she didn't mean harm? What if she just wanted to, I don't know, live somewhere else?" Octavia asked.

"Look Octavia, Inklings won't be kind to us. If they ever see one of us in their turf, they will kick us out, or worse."

"That Octoling didn't do anything to deserve to die! She was innocent of a law that we made AFTER HER DEATH!" Octavia suddenly switched to a fiercer and louder tone. This somewhat startled Cici, but she kept her cool composure.

"You better watch what you say, I could report you for being a suspected traitor."

"Ugh! You've been nothing but frustrating to me, and all you do is ignore me and pretend I'm not there!" Octavia snapped, now frustrated at Cici from the past few days.

"I hardly even know you at all! All YOU do is just follow me like some lost homeless pile of worthless garbage! If you don't like me, then go find someone else to follow, someone else who isn't tired of having someone as stupid and meaningless as you!" Cici shouted louder, and made Octavia shrink back to her bed. Octavia, disheartened and with tears slowly trickling down her face, suddenly got up and left the dorm, slamming the door behind her. Cici sat back down on her bed, sighing heavily.

" _She deserved to be yelled at. I'm sick and tired of her."_ Cici laid her head on her hands. She waited, and minutes passed by. Soon, the minutes turned into hours, and the dome the Academy was housed in became dark, trying to emulate what most people on the surface would call "night". She expected Octavia to come back running inside, saying how she wants to make up and be "friends" again. After all, that's the kind of person Cici pictured her to be. But she didn't return, and Cici just eventually lost track of time as she laid on her bed, staring aimlessly at the dark ceiling.

" _Ugh, Cici, why do you have to be like this? She was just trying to be your friend."_ Cici thought, starting a small private conversation with herself.

" _She was being annoying, that's what she was. I don't need friends or family, not after what I've been through."_

" _Or, maybe you NEED someone like her. Someone to call a friend, someone to trust in a time of need so you can watch each other's backs. You can't always be alone."_

" _Yes I can, and I will. I'll prove it."_

" _You're talking to yourself in your head, stupid. You COULD be talking to someone else, someone like a FRIEND!"_

" _I don't NEED someone else, for the love of cod! How many times do I have to say this?"_

" _You keep bottling up everything inside, and you keep thinking everyone's the same, that they're all there to hurt you, that they don't care. You hardly gave her a chance."_

" _You think I was too hard on her?"_

" _Yes. Calling her 'useless' sounds pretty harsh."_

" _Okay, fine. I'll...give her another chance. But I'm done talking, this makes me sound like a lunatic."_ And with that, Cici ended her mental conversation with herself, and pulled the thin blankets of her bed to cover herself. She turned around, facing the wall, where she saw a shine of bright light pass, probably from a nearby patrol that happened to go by the dorm sections of the Academy.

"I really have to stop these mental conversations. Maybe Octavia and I could have conversations like this instead...well, I guess we'll see about that tomorrow." Cici muttered to herself before she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

 **So yeah, this chapter actually turned out to be longer than usual, but that's fine. Of course, since we mostly focused on Nemo, Orcus, and Trenton these few chapters, next chapter we'll be focusing on Cici and Octavia, and Cici's past. Now, in the spirit of Valentine's Day, here's a question: who's your favorite character couple so far from New Adventure or All Aboard the Nautilus? That's it for now, and be sure to leave a review or comment!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Empty Apologies**

 **Here is chapter 6! As promised, this chapter focuses more on Cici and Octavia, since the previous chapters focused more on the other characters, including Nemo, Orcus, Trenton and even Augustus. Well, enjoy!**

* * *

The whirring of the patrol vehicles slowly focused as Cici opened her eyes. She tossed the blanket off herself and rubbed some irritating crust off her eyes. Octavia was still absent in their room. Either she had already woken up and was outside attending to her duties, or she really had stayed outside for the whole night. Guilt surged up in Cici again. She still remembered that disheartened look on Octavia's face when she yelled at her. She simply got out of bed and changed into her uniform. She didn't have time to yawn or stretch like everyone else normally would after waking up. She opened the door and dashed down the hall, thinking to herself where Octavia could have been. Unfortunately, something else was getting in the way.

"All Octarians, report for early morning training. This is mandatory, I repeat, this is mandatory."

 _Tch, of course it's mandatory. What training wasn't?_ Cici made hard turns on corners as she ran to the training facility. She pushed past several Octarians blocking the halls, all who weren't in a rush to go train. Finally, she arrived at the massive hall, panting from exhaustion.

"Cici Octavian, you're late." A nearby lieutenant chastised, but Cici didn't pay attention to that fact right now, as she quickly spotted Octavia just a few feet away from her. Pushing past the crowd, she reached Octavia, who seemed to be in a sour mood.

"Octavia! There you are, I've been meaning to-"

"Save it. I'm not worth anything, right? Aren't you the one who told me I was useless?"

"Octavia, wait!"

"Leave me alone." Octavia waved her away, before disappearing into the crowd. The officers in charge quickly got everyone lined up in an orderly fashion, and they all started punching in the air for some basic combat moves.

"From the information we got from Chief Scientist and Commander Augustus, there appears to be a very few of you who could combat Inklings in hand-to-hand combat. Listening to this, I felt disappointed. Absolutely disappointed in ALL of you. BEGIN!" An Elite shouted, and they all resumed their punches. Occasionally, they would split into duos and spar as practice for the battlefield. Cici quickly found Octavia again, and before the latter could object, the officer near them forced them to be partners. The two sparred, and while Cici was being restrained like she was told to, Octavia seemed to throw her punches with a little bit more force.

"Octavia, I'm sorry."

"Don't talk to me." Octavia told her, and she quickly socked her in the stomach. Cici fell to the ground, but Octavia helped her up. However, Cici knew it wasn't because Octavia cared for her, but rather it was because you were supposed to help your teammate up during training.

"SWITCH!" Another Elite ordered, and the Octolings in the room found new partners. Cici's partner was a timid girl who barely hit hard enough to hurt a fly. Octavia's new partner on the other hand was a taller, stronger girl. She easily beat down Octavia, who tried to block the strikes. Despite her best efforts, Octavia was knocked to the ground. Her opponent began to kick her around, each kick more painful than the last.

"I knew you were causing trouble! Your stupid friend got my brother zapped! He isn't going to be out of the infirmary for another week, you stupid trash bag!" The Octoling shouted angrily. She stomped on Octavia's back, and Octavia could feel her foot press down harder. She whimpered from the pain, and soon the whimpers turned into cries for help.

"Should we intervene?" An Elite asked another.

"Maybe. The DJ King wanted no more casualties after that last accident, after all." The partner responded, and both tried to get the Octoling to stop fighting Octavia, but the Octoling ignored them as she kept on kicking her.

"They said he might not even recover! You know how mad that makes me!? MAYBE I SHOULD JUST SPLAT YOU AND SEE HOW YOUR FRIEND FEELS!" The Octoling raised her foot and aimed for Octavia's head, intending to crush her liquid skull. Before she could bring it down, Cici dove underneath before rising back up with a powerful uppercut to the Octoling's jaw. The Octoling fell backwards, and the Elites managed to catch her. She swatted them away, angrily glaring at Cici like a mad bull.

"What's wrong? Mad you got knocked over by someone shorter than you?" Cici began to spit out her usual snarking to agitate the Octoling even more.

"You little punk, I'll tear out your ink sac and paint the floor with your ink!" The Octoling wrestled her way out of the Elites' grasp and charged at Cici, who landed a powerful kick to her chest before punching several times at her head. Soon, more Elites swarmed around the area and apprehended both Octolings and began dragging them away. Meanwhile, the Elite in charge of the whole training ordered other Octolings to continue to spar and ignore the commotion around them, "Why are you all watching? GET BACK TO WORK! THIS IS A MILITARY ACADEMY, NOT A MOVIE THEATER!" Cici tried to struggle out of the grips of the many Elites holding her, but they were too strong.

"Cici?" Octavia called out weakly, before passing out, and although Cici tried to turn her head and answer, one of the Elites forced her to look forward as they carried her off. Behind them, medics rushed to Octavia, dragging her away to the infirmary.

* * *

 **Later on…**

"I did what I had to do, Madam." Cici kept her tone cool and composed as she protested. "That Octoling seemed to be intending to murder her opponent. I had to do something before anyone got hurt."

The commander folded her arms, disappointed by this soldier's recklessness. However, she understood her motives, so she decided to let this slide."Cici Octavian, I appreciate your motives, but what you did was reckless and uncalculated. You could've gotten yourself, or other people injured. Next time, leave things like this to better and more disciplined soldiers, understood?"

"Yes madam." She responded.

"You may be dismissed." The commander waved her away. Cici turned around and pushed the door open to leave the office. _I gotta go to the infirmary to find Octavia. That stupid salty girl…_ Anger bubbled within her as she recalled how she mercilessly stomped on Octavia, but she kept her cool and dashed over to the infirmary.

"I thought I was going to die…" Nemo held his sister close as she wept on him, still traumatized from what transpired earlier. He had went over to the infirmary as soon as possible when he saw the news, and Trenton followed along. Orcus wanted to check on her too, but he was dragged away for a scouting mission. Right now, Nemo was trying to soothe his sister, while Trenton sat beside his bunkmate and watched with concern. He pitied poor Octavia; she had almost suffered the same fate as a certain other Octoling a few days ago.

"It's alright now, Via." Nemo gently stroked his sister's twin pigtails. "I'm sure the superiors won't let that happen again." Underneath, Nemo wanted to go find that other girl for a "friendly talk", but he restrained himself; he knew his sister and his friends would worry for him if he started another fight, and his superiors would definitely punish him.

It took Trenton a while before he finally spoke, "So uh, Octavia, I heard your bunkmate stopped that other girl from killing you. Is that true?"

Immediately Octavia's sobbing stopped and a deep scowl formed on her face, "I don't want to talk about her."

"Woah." Nemo was surprised at her fierce tone. She was never like this, angry and sour. Something definitely had happened to hit her like this. "What happened between you two, Via? What did she do to you?"

"Um, Nemo…" Trenton was starting to get worried about his partner's furious tone.

"Octavia!" A voice chirped. Nemo spun around and glared at the familiar girl standing at the entrance. "Cici Octavian, you bastard…"

Cici did not bother dodging or retaliating as he charged towards her, grabbed her by her neck and pinned her against the wall with a palm pressing on her shoulder blade. Despite the pain, Cici kept any emotion from radiating from her facial expression.

"Listen up, gal," Nemo started angrily. "I believe that you did or said something to hurt my sister. She's never angry like this, unless someone has hit her in a spot that _really_ hurts. So you'd better tell me right now; **what did you do to her?** "

"I won't deny it; it was my fault, correct. I did say some bad things to her." Cici admitted. "But now I want to apologize to all of that, if both you and she would let me do so. Please, just let me talk to her."

"Buddy, even if _I_ let you speak to her, I don't know if she'd forgive you or even want to talk to you. You might as well request for a new bunkmate and get out of my sister's face before you hurt her even more."

Cici looked past Nemo at Octavia. Her face radiated nothing but hate. Nah, she sure as hell does not want to speak to her now. She would only make things worse if she tried to talk to her. Maybe she'd try again later, when they're back in the dorms again, but not now.

"Yeah, maybe I should just get out of your face." Cici turned away, with a dejected look on her face. "I should get going." He formed a strong grip on Nemo's wrist and yanked his palm off her, before running down the hallway again. With any luck, she'd be called from some boring errands again. As she reached the hallway exit, she turned around and snuck one last peek at Octavia's room. _I'm sorry…_ A voice told her to go back and try again, but she knew it's just going to dissolve into failure, so she pushed the door and ran out of the hallway to the reception.

"Huh, she ran off." Nemo commented in slight confusion. He had expected her to persist, but she probably knew what's best for her and Octavia. "Anyway, she's gone for now." As he looked at his sister, he noticed a slight shift in her grumpy expression, but said nothing, because Trenton quickly interrupted, "Hey uh, Nemo, I think visiting hours are almost over. We should head back."

"Yeah." Nemo turned to Octavia. "We gotta go now. See you later, Via." The two boys quickly walked out, leaving Octavia alone in the cold room. With no other stimuli around, her thoughts drifted back to Cici. She was still heartbroken over being called useless, but…what if she didn't mean it? Maybe it was just a moment of frustration and the wrong thing escaped her lips. Maybe she should give her a chance to apologize…

"Anyone in there?" Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice asking that question and a knock on the door. A medic?

"Who's there?" Octavia asked meekly, and in came a young Octoling holding a glass of water. Her green tentacles were tied up in a long ponytail, like Cici, but it reached her neck, and her sideburns were shorter. Her sideburns were also shorter. A large, mischievous grin was plastered on her face. Oddly, this medic seemed younger than Octavia. Maybe she can actually talk with her instead of those stoic adults.

"Heya!" The little girl greeted. "Here, have some drinks. My boss told me to give you."

"Thank you." Octavia reached for the glass and sipped the warm water slowly. Meanwhile, the other girl sat down on what was originally Trenton's chair and kept her cyan eyes fixed on Octavia. "Heh, you were real lucky that another trainee decided to save you. I don't think the Elites would've been able to put her down if it weren't for that gal interrupting."

"The girl," Octavia started. "She is my bunkmate."

"Oh really?" The Octoling raised a brow. "That's interesting. I assume you two are close, considering how she wanted to save you from that angry Octoling."

"I don't think we're close." Octavia's tone became steely.

"Why say so?" The Octoling continued to prod.

"We… had an argument. That's it."

"So when are you two gonna clear things up and reconcile?" That question, somehow, hit Octavia like the Octostomp. Reconcile? Be friends again? Start over? It suddenly seemed impossible to her. She didn't know why, but it just seemed so hard to walk up and say something like "I'm sorry, can we be friends again?". Was it pride that's holding her back? Or was it a grudge she's holding? Or was it… fear?

"Look, I'm never a fan of sappy drama stuff, but you two gotta talk it out and get to a conclusion at some point. You can't hold a grudge forever; it's gonna kill you, either emotionally or physically." The Octoling lectured.

"I know, I know." Octavia nodded. "But I really don't know how to face her."

The Octoling sighed and folded her arms, "Alright, sorry for prodding, but why exactly did you two have a fallout?"

Octavia tried hard to remember what events that led to their argument. The meeting, the discussion about that traitorous Octoling, and then both of them finally snapping…

"We...I suddenly...snapped, when we were returning to our dorms. I didn't know why; we were talking about that new law regarding treason and then I just shouted at her that I've been frustrated because she never interacts or acknowledges me. And then…" Tears started to form on her eyes again. "She turned around and called me useless. I just...I don't know. I think she hates me."

"I see." The Octoling nodded. "But what if she didn't mean it? Maybe her emotions got worked up and she said something that she didn't want to. Or maybe...she was lashing out." Her tone suddenly grew more grave and serious. "Maybe she had been through a lot recently and she needed something to vent on. It's like sticking a photo of that one guy you hate onto a dart board and then practicing your dart skills with it."

"She's been through a lot? I haven't really seen her being sad or anything like that."

"Of course she's not gonna show it that easily, kid." The girl laid a hand on Octavia's shoulder. "You gotta look deeper than the face she shows you. Maybe that's not what she really is like. People have layers, kid. You can peel off one layer, and then underneath it is a completely different person, you can't predict it. You won't know unless they tell you, or you figure it out yourself." She began to rub Octavia's shoulder gently. "Go talk to her, man. Don't be disheartened so quickly. Who knows; maybe with the right words and the right circumstances, you might be able to get her to open up."

Octavia awed at this young girl. She had just dispensed a book's worth of wisdom to Octavia, and helped to acknowledge other possibilities and look past that emotionless front Cici put on. It's amazing, how wise she was, considering she was probably the same age as her.

"Thanks, buddy." Octavia finally managed a smile. "Oh right, uh, what's your name?"

"Name's Crystal Humboldt. I'm 14 this year, just achieved humanoid form a few months ago." The Octoling finally introduced herself. "Sometimes I work here as a medic's assistant, but you can also find me at Block C of the female dorms. Welp, I gotta go." She grabbed the empty glass sitting on the small table beside the bed. "See you later. Good luck, kid." She then walked out of the room, leaving Octavia alone again to ponder her next move…

* * *

 **Well, that's it for chapter 6. Sorry if this chapter felt a little bit shorter than the others, but the next one should be longer and will focus a little bit more on Cici and maybe her past. Thanks for reading, and be sure to leave a review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Reconciliation (Part 1)**

 **Sorry for the longer wait for this chapter! But longer wait means longer chapter, so this chapter is slightly longer than the rest iirc.**

 **MetalSoul: Yes, as you have correctly guessed this is a redo of an older story that Wes deleted because she was too busy with school. Glad you enjoy it so far!**

 **Ok, with the author's notes out of the way now, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Cici lined up the muzzle of the Octo Shot with the dummy's chest and pulled the trigger. The squid-shaped balloon popped within a few seconds as globs of fuchsia ink hit it. She put the weapon back on the small table beside her and walked away from the shooting range, nearly bumping into a passing Octoball on the way out. Her heart was still heavy; it was inevitable that she and Octavia would need to talk it out at some point, but how would they face each other? What should they say? Would they even want to see each other? Maybe that Nemo guy was correct; she might as well request to transfer to another dorm and get separated from Octavia.

No. Running away from the problem doesn't solve jack. She must talk with her, whether they like it or not.

"Hey, you alright there, pal?" Cici looked up and saw a tall Octoling boy before him. His four short tentacles were combed back neatly. He had a large Octobrush slung behind him. He carried a big, wide smile, but it contrasted his concerned tone, "You seem to have something on your heart."

"I don't think so." Cici looked away.

"Wanna talk it out?" The boy suggested.

"Talk...it out?" Cici raised a brow in confusion. She had not met someone who was willing to talk with another stranger for something they have no part in.

"Name's Tristan." The boy introduced himself. "And why not, it's alright to talk 'bout something if it helps you feel better."

This boy seemed persistent. He was a complete stranger, so why should he care how she felt? But as much as Cici wanted to swat him away, she couldn't deny he was right, so why not go along with it? "I guess we can talk a little."

"Alright, but we can't talk over all this noise." Tristan gestured at the numerous cadets practicing their sharpshooting skills in the range. "Let's go somewhere else."

* * *

 **Later on…**

"Here we are." Tristan had taken her to some sort of recreational area in the Academy. The whole place looked like a small bar, and a flat-faced Twintacle Octotrooper was passing some drinks to the different Octolings here. In the distance, several Octolings were playing some sort of card game, and occasionally Cici could hear them yell in victory if they won a round. There were some tables and chairs scattered around in groups, not really in any specific pattern. Cici could see the large vats of drinks, probably alcoholic, behind the bartender that was there, the translucent liquid shining in the light. The room was pretty well lit, and seemed pretty nice.

"Hey, catch." Tristan tossed at Cici a can of cherry soda, which she caught perfectly, before he popped open his own can. So far this girl hasn't said anything yet, not even anything generic like introducing herself. Well, he'll have to be patient. "Let's sit down."

Cici kept her eyes trained on this polite boy as she sipped her soda. He seemed pretty chill and sort of…there's a word to describe his chivalrous personality and it's _not_ "flirty". She had seen many boys who tried to impress her and some other girls. Ah right, "gentleman" is the word. She knew the difference between a soft-spoken guy and a nerd who tries so hard to flirt that he ends up looking stupid.

"So," Tristan kept his welcoming smile. "What's been happening, pal?"

"How do I start?" Cici rubbed her forehead. "I don't know how to describe this…"

"Don't work yourself up, pal. One at a time." Tristan assured her. "Go slowly."

" _Pal"? Really? I swear, I'm going to get killed or kidnapped or something._ Cici thought as she began to describe how the fight started.

"Well, Octavia seemed worked up about the new law the King's nephew created, and she was really upset about how the Octoling died."

"The traitor Octoling? Yeah, it's a shame." Tristan bowed his head slightly as he remembered the assembly. "I understand why she wanted to run away, though; things are kinda hectic down here."

"That'd be an understatement."

"Anyway, back to the point," Tristan put down his can. "Octavia, you say? I've heard of her; pretty cheerful and lively. It's hard to find someone like her down here. You said she was upset, huh?"

"Yeah. Then all of a sudden she just snapped and said…all I did is just ignore her and pretend she's not there."

"Hoo my, now that's something. But," He put on an apologetic expression, "Is that really true? Did you really do that?"

"I guess so. I admit I was pretty harsh on her. In fact, the next thing I said to her was:

" _I hardly even know you at all! All YOU do is follow me like some lost homeless pile of worthless garbage!"_

"Ouch. That's blunt, man." Tristan didn't want to say that so straightforwardly, but he had to point out the truth to her.

"I know, I know." Cici nodded in defeat. "I tried to apologize to her, but she doesn't want to face me anymore. I don't know what to do." For the first time in years, her emotionless facade slipped as she buried her face in her hands and tried to fight back the urge to break down in tears.

"Alright, it's okay. It's not too late." Tristan reached out his palms and gently grabbed the girl's trembling arms, making her look up at him. "Don't be afraid to go up to her. If she tries to push you away, don't be disheartened. Her reaction right now is pretty justified and normal to something like that."

"I guess...but, if it's normal, does that mean we aren't supposed to, I don't know, clear things up and start fresh?"

"I never said you can't apologize, I just said that you should just wait and maybe tell her when you two are alone, with no distractions around." Tristan said. Cici took another sip of her soda, and stared at the liquid as she thought about what to do. She could see her reflection in it, and all she could see was the disappointment radiating from her facial expressions. She felt as if she ruined her one chance to prove to herself that not everyone is going to treat her horribly, and that there are some nice people in this underground hell.

"Maybe you can try to do something with her, like hanging out together for a bit." Tristan suggested. "Then, you two can just talk it over."

"Perhaps. You know, from everything I experienced in my life so far, I thought everyone around me is cold and heartless, that they all just hate me for some indescribable reason. Sometimes, I just ask myself why no one wants to be near me, why I can't have anyone I can run to when I need help. And now, when my perfect opportunity comes up, I ruin it. No, I don't just ruin it; I make it disappear forever." Her voice began to crack at the last two words.

"Well, maybe you've been around the wrong group. Not everyone is like that, you know. For example, I saw you were a bit depressed looking and such over there. I could've ignored you and thought 'not my problem', but here we are, talking to each other. Kinda cool how even when everything's chaotic and messy, there's always still some good around here."

"Yeah." Cici nodded. Although she admittedly thinks it was weird for a complete stranger like him to start talking to her, she sort of liked it. She hadn't really had a decent conversation like this with someone in a while. "Thank you. For the advice."

"No problem. Hey, I need to go check on a friend of mine, but if you see me around, you can always come talk to me. Later, pal." Tristan walked away, chucking his soda can into a garbage bin. The can bounced around the walls of the bin, and Cici just watched as it slowly landed on the bottom with a soft thud. She got up and simply dropped her empty can into the bin, and she walked away, leaving the sounds of the bar behind her.

* * *

 **At the infirmary...**

Octavia waved at the receptionist as she walked out of the door. Crystal's words kept bouncing around in her mind. What should she do now? Return to the dorms? Find Cici? She had no clue what to do…

 _Hmm, what to do, what to do...surely it's not THAT hard, I've talked to her several times before! Yeah, shouldn't be hard at all…_ Octavia thought to herself, a confident smile on her face.

"Octavia, wait!" Octavia heard a familiar female voice behind her and she turned to see Cici, who seemed both relieved and nervous. Octavia didn't really smile or frown, not knowing how to feel. "Oh, hi Cici…"

"Hey." Cici tried her hardest to keep herself composed as she began to speak. "Um...look, about what I said, I'm sorry. I-I don't know what I was thinking, I think I just got frustrated and I…"

"Frustrated is underselling it, don't you think?"

"Octavia, I'm sorry...I didn't realize how much I needed someone...you know, like a friend."

"Uh huh…"

"And I guess, I just felt horrible about what I said. I know I've said it so many times, but I mean it: I'm sorry." Cici told her, staring at Octavia straight into her eyes. Her hopeful pupils reminded Octavia of those adorable creatures called Octoballs she had seen, except those things only had one eye, while she had two. Two sad, hopeful eyes staring at her. Octavia wouldn't describe Cici right now as "on the verge of tears", but she still seemed close to the term.

"Hmm...okay, I forgive you. Sort of. But for the most part, yes, you're forgiven." Octavia told Cici, and without any warning, she threw herself towards her and trapped her in a tight hug. This sudden display of affection shocked the Octoling in question, who yelped slightly before returning the embrace, although lightly.

"So, no fights?"

"No more." Octavia whispered softly.

"And we're...friends?"

"Yes Cici, we're friends if you want to be. Sorry for running away when you wanted to apologize."

"No Octavia, your actions are justified. Anyway...you want to do something?" Cici asked. The two walked over to a bench, as they were in yet another recreational center that emulated a nature park. Electronic panels displayed the "sky", and there were plants there that the Octarians probably had scavenged from the forests surrounding the Valley and the Canyon. Everything was well tended, and the whole room was very bright.

"Hmm...well, I don't know. Maybe we should walk around?" Octavia suggested. "I haven't explored the whole entirety of the Academy yet. Maybe only a few rooms and halls, at best."

"Yeah. Here, let's go over that way." Cici pointed at a small tree no far away. "I haven't been here long either, so lots of this is new to me still."

"Great! Let's go." The duo walked past the small tree, into a deep well lit hall. It was wide, with many large rooms on both sides. These rooms consisted of some usual stuff, like bathrooms and armories, and some were quite unique rooms, like a small weapons manufacturing room and a storage room full of metal parts.

"You know, I never recognized that storage room of growing pods before. Or that room with the weird creepy guys making weapons." Octavia told Cici, who looked at the shiny floor as they walked. The hall was now less lit up, but light was still bright enough to see pretty clearly. Octavia found another room, and she immediately pulled on Cici's sleeve. The Octoling stopped abruptly, her heels making a minor screeching noise.

"Octavia!"  
"Sorry, I just wanted to check this room for a second." Octavia said, pointing with her thumb to the doorway behind her. There was a keypad next to it, but the double doors had already opened. The room was labelled with a metal sign screwed onto the wall on the side.

"The 'boiler' room? No offense Octavia, but one, we probably aren't allowed there, and two, don't say we are just because the door is open."

"But the doors are open! And officers wouldn't just leave the doors open if they knew we weren't allowed."

"Didn't I just tell you not to say we can go in if the doors are op- Octavia, wait!" Cici exclaimed as she suddenly saw her friend walk into the room. The room was huge and very roomy. It was a literal maze of pipes, both thick and skinny, and pipes were everywhere. They were currently on a platform, which kept them from falling down deep under. The platform was made of grates, which meant octopus form was out of the question. The room was dimly lit, only visible through orange lights that shone in the mostly dark room. Everything looked orange at this point. Click could see steam rising from some pipes, although she didn't worry. The boiler room certainly wasn't quiet, and she could hear noises echoing throughout the walls. She caught up to Octavia, who reached a midpoint with a central control station. Here, several long paths of the platforms connected to this control area, although this wasn't the only one. There were several others in the room, all put in certain places to monitor pipes and control certain areas of the boiler room.

"Octavia, why are we here again?"

"You said you wanted to explore, that's what we're doing. Besides, it can't be that bad, no one's in here." Octavia told her in a cheery voice. Nonetheless, Cici was not convinced but followed her friend anyway, not wanting to see her get hurt. Suddenly, Cici heard voices. They were distant, yes, but she could hear them.

"Octavia, over here." Cici motioned, and Octavia joined her friend as she led them towards the voices. She can now hear them clearly, and she didn't recognize any of their voices. They crept up behind a large pipe, and peeks around the corner to see four Octolings. Probably the most noticeable one was the tallest Octoling Cici had ever laid her eyes on. He was huge, and she wondered how he even fit through half the doors in the Academy with his size. There was another tall Octoling boy, although he was significantly shorter than the muscly one. There was a girl there as well, and she was about the average height for an Octoling. She seemed bored, but Cici couldn't tell from her angle. Then, there was…

"Orcus, are you listening?" The tall Octoling said to his teammate. Orcus simply shrugged, slightly frustrating the Octoling.

"Yeah yeah, I'm listening."

"Very well. Anyway, I think we should look for those two Inklings, and squash 'em beneath our feet." The tall Octoling told them, motioning his foot and stomping on the ground. It made the platform shake slightly, and Octavia was wobbling before she grabbed and held onto Cici's arm.

"We can't unless Augustus says so. It's the rules, appointed to us by Augustus from the King himself." The muscular Octoling said to his friend. His friend simply snorted out of annoyance with that fact.

"So what? They're Inklings, surely the King will accept if we just kill off a few of their numbers. I mean, they are our enemy, they're the reason we are all down here."

"Perhaps they are, but we have orders to follow, and there are restrictions." The girl added. Octavia peeked out of the side of the pipe before she began sneaking towards another area. Cici noticed her friend was gone, and quickly started to whisper to her friend.

"Octavia, what are you doing!? Are you trying to get us caught?"

"I'm just trying to get a better look at them. I know one of them is Orcus, but I don't know who the others are…" Octavia whispered back before sneaking over to another large pipe.

"Octavia, come back here right now! You'll make them see you!" Cici whispered in the most demanding-but-not-loud tone she could. Octavia peered over, and listened as they continued to argue about what to do about Inklings in Octo Valley. Cici tried to motion to Octavia to make her come back to her "safe spot", but the Octoling girl ignored her.

"Ugh, Augustus listens to the King too much. He knows his Uncle is too soft on the Inklings, and I know that he CAN accomplish the very same goals Octavio promised us! He could get us all of our power back, he could militarize us more quickly, and before you know it, we'll be knocking on the Inklings' doors, ready to splat them all and paint their streets with their own ink. All of this could be accomplished, if only Augustus didn't listen to that engineer he's always flirting with." The tall Octoling ranted angrily. The girl and Orcus both had expressionless faces as they listened.

"Owen, I think it's best if you don't criticize our King. Especially not like that." The girl warned him.

"Oh? And who's going to listen? No one's here except us, and we knocked out all the guards in the boiler room."

" _I_ did, Owen." The muscular Octoling drawled, but his friend waved him off. Orcus yawned, making Owen glare at him.

"Does this bore you, Orcus?"

"No, not at all. Besides, it's quite funny to watch you rant about Augustus and how he fawns over that engineer. Jealous much?" Orcus snarked, and he turned his head to watch some steam rise from a pipe nearby. However, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed movement. He turned his head a little bit more and saw someone he didn't expect to see.  
 _Why is Octavia here, of all places? I don't think she'd be allowed here, she's not part of the maintenance crew or the guards stationed here._ Orcus thought, but Owen grabbed his attention back.

"No, not at all. She's attractive, but she's also a distraction to what Augustus could fulfill for us. I say we kill her, or kidnap her and leave her for the Inklings to kill. Either way, I want her gone." Owen answered. He looked at everyone, and then whispered to Oscar. Oscar nodded as he listened, and then walked off.

"So, what do you say Orcus? Should we get that stupid engineer out of the picture, maybe kill her off or do something to put her out of commission?" Owen asked the group.

"No, Owen. I don't feel like taking any lives today, or tomorrow. I'm only fighting when it's necessary."

"We don't have to kill her. There are other means...if you understand my point…" A creepy grin crawled up onto Owen's face. Orcus knew exactly what he was suggesting, and he shook his head in disbelief.

"N-no. I would never do such a thing."

"Always the goody two-shoes, Orcus, aren't you? Whatever. Say, did you notice the audience we have?" Owen asked Orcus, and he could hear some muffled screams. He looked to see that Oscar, the big brute, had an Octoling girl in his muscular arms. He immediately recognized her as Cici, the girl Octavia was roommates with.

"Hey, let her go!" Octavia immediately ran out of her hiding spot, a stern glare on her face.

"Octavia, it appears you still haven't learned from your experiences at the orphanage. You can't hide. I've noticed you guys were here, ever since you moved to your new spot." Owen taunted. He motioned to Oscar, and the Octoling started tightening his grip on Cici, who was flailing around and kicking her legs in an attempt to escape. She was screaming, but her mouth was covered by one of Oscar's large hands. Oscar formed a firm grip on her head and started to twist it slowly, making her scream more loudly, as audible as she could with a huge hand over her mouth.

"Please, stop!" Octavia pleaded." You're hurting her!"

"And do you think we'd care? I mean, I certainly don't, and no one else here does. Seems like only one here who cares is you, and you're only one out what, hundreds that attend this Academy? I don't think people would miss her a lot." Owen smirked evilly as he watched Cici's futile struggling. Octavia wanted to wipe the smirk off clean, but she knew she couldn't. He could easily overpower her, and it wouldn't be hard to do so. Problem is, how would she get Cici out?

"Let her go, Owen." Orcus demanded, but Owen didn't budge, and neither did Oscar. The latter had stopped trying to twist Cici's head, and she seemed to relax slightly, however she was still struggling to get out of his tough grip.

"Come on Owen, think about this logically. If you kill them, where are you going to hide the bodies?"

"Simple; they were traitors, so we killed them. And three out of four would have the same story." Owen argued.

"I never said I would agree with the story." The girl muttered, but Owen didn't hear her from the distant noises echoing around the boiler room.

"Owen, let them go, please."

"Oc-Octavia...help m...e…" Cici muttered. Octavia had her hands over her mouth, speechless and afraid. She didn't know what to do, and she could see her friend writhing in pain. She wanted to help Cici desperately, but the odds didn't seem to be on her side.

"Oscar, kill the one you're holding." Owen commanded.

"Alrighty. Ready, little girl?" Oscar asked menacingly as he grabbed her legs and torso. Cici closed her eyes; if this is how she'll leave this wretched world, then so be it. Oscar raised her up high and prepared to tear her into two, but the Octoling girl in the group immediately kicked him in the stomach, making him drop Cici, who fell to the floor limply. The girl flipped off Oscar's stomach and landed perfectly a few feet away.

"Sorry Owen, I prefer no bloodshed, not here." The girl said firmly.

"Oh, is everyone becoming soft now? Are we to pander to the weak?" Owen asked mockingly.

"No, but it's obvious you have an unfair advantage combat wise. Don't you think it would be a waste of energy killing them?"

"I can tear her to pieces without breaking a sweat, what are you implying?" Oscar asked, slightly miffed at her remark. She shrugged, and although Oscar seemed to be a bit set off by this, he didn't move to attack her, remaining where he was. Cici attempted to get back on her feet and run towards Octavia's location, but Owen, with sudden speed and power, stomped on her legs, and she screamed in pain as she crashed to the ground, her head making a dull thud on the platform.

"CICI!" Octavia exclaimed in horror as Owen walked over to Cici, and knelt down to face her.

"That's just a small sampler of what will happen if you dare rat on us and tell about what you heard here, you understand? Tell anyone, and I'll give you the full serving." Cici could only nod her head weakly before Octavia and the other girl rushed to help her up. They carried her off toward the entrance, where Octavia got Cici on her back and carried her piggy-back style.  
"Thank you for helping me. I can take her to the infirmary from here. Thank you for saving her too." Octavia told the girl. She didn't have a frown, but she didn't really have a smile either. She was more or less expressionless right now. Octavia can now see in the light of the hallway that she was wearing the new metal goggles, which she thought was strange.

"There's no need to thank me. I didn't do anything special."

"I would beg to differ, but can I ask you something? Why did you save use? You are with Owen, aren't you?"

"Yes, because I'm part of the same squad he's in. He's the only person I really know, I was moved here recently because I met requirements for an experiment." The Octoling explained. She seemed quiet, but she didn't seem to have any sort of malice in her voice.

"Oh...well, thank you anyway. What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Natalie. Natalie Tilus."

"Thank you, Natalie." Octavia said again for probably the third time in a row. Cici was unconscious now from the pain, and her limp body was leaning on Octavia's back, who was slightly hunched over. Octavia walked down the hall, while Natalie walked the other way. As she walked down, staring at the semi-scuffed floor tiles that reflected the ceiling lights, Natalie thought about her actions. Since Owen was technically team leader, she probably shouldn't have stepped out of line for some strangers like those two girls. They did bring this on themselves, didn't they? Then again, Oscar left the doors open, so they should have expected some curious wanderers coming in. But Natalie felt good about what she did. It was small, but she swore she felt herself smile for the first time in a long while…

* * *

 **Later…**

Orcus was troubled. He could have done more, he should have done more. He could have warned them, or signalled Octavia to leave the boiler room for her own safety. All he had to hope was that her friend was okay barring some intense leg injury that would likely put her out of commission for training sessions for a few days, or maybe weeks. As for Owen's idea for silencing Marina...he had to keep an eye on that unpredictable brute. He didn't really know Marina, and never really talked to her in person, but he knew she was important, and hearing the stories about Augustus from Nemo's roommate was enough for him to know that she was probably the only one who's keeping Augustus sane, for now.

"I guess it's my job to look after Marina and make sure Owen isn't out of line. As for Inklings...ugh, this is so frustrating and confusing at the same time!" Orcus said to himself, punching the training dummy in front of him. An Octotrooper who was walking beside him just stared at him in confusion before ignoring him and continuing on.

"They didn't seem so bad when I saw them. Sure, we fought those two, but...if Inklings hated Octolings, why did they bring that one Octoling girl with them? Maybe I'm believing too much fairy tales, and not looking at the bigger picture that's probably right in front of my face…" Orcus muttered to himself as he threw a few more jabs and a powerful uppercut, which sent the dummy flying and then slamming right into the Octotrooper from before. Orcus winced as he saw the poor Octarian fly into a wall, making a huge dent in it.

"S-sorry!" Orcus called out, and quietly made his way out of the room.

* * *

 **That's the chapter! Next chapter will be focusing more on Octavia and Cici's past, especially the latter, and her story is pretty interesting. Now, will Owen go along with his plan and silence Marina, or will someone stop him before he does? Also, who is this Natalie person? Well, you will all find out in later chapters. Anyway, thanks for reading and be sure to leave a review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Reconciliation (Part 2)**

 **Time for more All Aboard the Nautilus! This chapter took longer to write (I think?) since I did have other things going on (school, especially projects and essays and such). But it's here, so hopefully you enjoy it, since we will be able to take a glimpse into Cici's background.**

 **Guest: no, this story is not based on Octo Expansion. Actually, this story takes place over the course of two years before Splatoon 1, during Splatoon 1, the 2 years in between Splatoon 1 and 2, and a little bit of time after Splatoon 2 as well as during.**

* * *

"Faster, you bumbling idiots!" The tallest Elite among the group roared at the numerous female cadets doing their pushups. "Is that all you got? C'mon, you're better than that! Move it!"

The lieutenant's words barely reached Octavia, who was lost in her racing thoughts. Cici had yet to wake up for three days. She knew Owen crushed her legs badly. What if she couldn't heal? What if she was doomed to be handicapped for the rest of her life? She should have listened to Cici. She shouldn't had poked her nose at where they should not belong. If they had just left the boiler room alone, Cici wouldn't had gotten caught and hurt. It was her fault.

"Hey, I'm talking to _you_ , cadet!" Octavia collapsed on her elbows and looked up at the lieutenant. "You've been spacing out frequently for the past few days. What's with you?"

"N-Nothing." Octavia lied, but the lieutenant saw right through it as she bent down to reach her level and grabbed her chin to make her look at her in the eye. "Look here, kid, I know you're worried about your bunkmate, but she has no fatal injuries, and the medics are gonna get her better asap, so stop thinking about her and get back to your damn training!" She let go of Octavia and motioned the other Elites to walk away and check on the other cadets.

"Well, she is right that I should stop thinking about it…" Octavia muttered to herself before she returned to her pushups. Meanwhile, a girl on her left elbowed her a little, "Hey, so you're Cici Octavian's bunkmate?"

"Y-Yeah?" Octavia nodded.

"Eh, that gal tries so hard to look like a tough guy, but she's really nothing but a crybaby mess." Some other trainees snickered at the Octoling's comment. Octavia rolled her eyes and returned to watching the ground, but somehow, she couldn't brush aside what the Octoling said. Other than when she was caught by Owen and his lackeys, Octavia had never seen emotion expressed by Cici. She's always serious and quiet. There's no way she can be a "crybaby mess". But out of the corner of her mind, a certain girl's words came back to her:

" _People have layers, kid. You can peel off one layer, and then underneath it is a completely different person, you can't predict it."_

Crystal's words seemed to be making more and more sense with everything that had transpired recently. Cici and Natalie; Octavia knew both of them are not what they seem. She wondered why they chose to hide their true natures, but that would most probably be an enigma that won't be solved for a long time.

* * *

 **Later on…**

"I'm starting to notice a pattern of us getting hurt and sent to the infirmary one after another." Nemo commented as he sat down beside his sister. "First me, then you, and now your friend..."

"I hope she can wake up." Octavia mumbled as she stirred her water. "Those bullies crushed her legs badly." She bit her lip as lied, but she cannot risk telling anyone else the truth, or Owen would definitely go after her and Cici.

"We're lucky we don't have bones, unlike those animals like chickens." Nemo told her. Octavia simply just nodded her head. She could hear Nemo talking about something along the lines of Trenton and Augustus, but she stopped paying attention. She felt overwhelmed, with so many questions in her head. Who was that girl, Natalie? Why is she with Orcus and Owen? Why does Cici seem like she's hiding something about herself? All these questions were flooding Octavia's mind while she listened to her brother drone on. Eventually, he noticed she wasn't paying attention.

"You know, if you're going to ignore me at least tell me that before I start talking endlessly."

"S-sorry. I'm just...there's just so many things going on."

"I understand. Well, if you need someone to talk to remember, I'm here. Well, whenever females and males can meet up with one another. But besides that, I'm here for you." Nemo said as he got up and walked away, disappearing into the crowd while Octavia just sat there, alone.

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

"Hey, how has your day been? Oh, mine? Fine. Just fine, nothing more, nothing less." Natalie said. She was in a dark room, the little amount of light spreading around the room and making the walls a nice shade of dark blue among the pitch black of the shadows. There was a window, but there was a curtain blocking the light from coming in. Natalie was sitting on a chair, talking to someone.

"I feel different? Well, I guess you would notice, since you've been with me for so long…There's no hiding it. I...I smiled actually, outside of here. First time in forever too. Weird how it even happened." And so Natalie proceeded to tell the person the story, and of how she helped Octavia get Cici out of the boiler room safely. The person silently listened, making no sound or movement, no reply, no motion.

"I don't even know the girls either. I just didn't want my teammates hurting some innocent Octolings, especially cadets. We are higher ranking now, but only slightly. Even then, I don't think we should treat ourselves so highly when we still have the same faults as they do." Natalie said to her friend.

"Look...I don't know what triggered it. Something about that girl...she just has something good about her that I like. Some good vibe probably radiating off her, and sort of infecting me. No, I don't think of her like THAT, you know I like guys. No, I probably won't see her again, and no, I'm not going to go off searching for her. I have no time anyway. Augustus wants us to begin searching the territory for Inklings." Natalie moved around, trying to get more comfortable at her bedside. She hugged a pillow, and she took her goggles off, setting them aside.

"I wish we were friends. The Inklings and us, I meant. I wonder if they really hate us, or if everyone has been feeding me lies. I asked that boy I told you about last time, Orcus was his name, and he said the Inklings he met were weird. They looked like they rescued the Octoling that perished. It only fuels my curiosity, makes me ask myself, 'are the Inklings really trying to get us, or are we just preparing for a threat that doesn't exist'? Perhaps I'm just being stupid. Maybe the Inklings ARE trying to attack us, trying to humiliate us even more. What do I know, I'm only fed Octarian information and propaganda each day. Well, it's been nice talking to you, Pi." Natalie said, and she got up to unfold the curtains. The light from the panels of the dome poured in, and the room was now fully lit. Natalie picked up her friend, a stuffed Octotrooper doll, and hugged it close to her chest.

"I know it's weird that I only talk to you in the dark. But then again, it's how I've always talked to you, so it's normal for you. I'll be going, I want to roam the Academy today, I'll see you later." Natalie whispered to her doll, giving it one last tight squeeze before laying it down nicely on her bed and leaving the room, shutting the door quietly, and soon the room was silent, as if she hadn't stepped in at all.

* * *

Cici woke up, and she felt...normal. She remembered getting caught, she remembered trying to escape, she remembered her legs getting absolutely crushed… Cici immediately grabbed hold of her legs, feeling around just after she remembered this. Her legs felt fine and normally shaped, and she could wiggle her toes so she didn't think much of it. Cici stretched and yawned, and she threw the blankets off herself when she realized she wasn't where she was supposed to be. The room didn't look like the infirmary at all, far from it. She could see some stuffed animals on the far back corner of her bed. There were some normal things in the room, like a shelf and dresser, and she also had a small toy chest. The walls were painted purple, although the paint looked like it was on the brink of fading away completely, leaving only a light hue of said color. There was a single window, and light shone through it creating a square of light on the carpet floor. Cici realized this was her room. This was…"home".

 _How did I get here?_ Cici asked herself, closing her eyes, counting for several seconds and then opening them back up again, only to see the room again. She even tried to pinch herself, maybe to wake herself up from the dream she believed she was having.

"But...how could I be back? Octavia doesn't know, and no one else does either...who brought me here?" Cici asked herself aloud, and suddenly she saw door knob turn. In came a muscular Octoling man. He was tall, with some wavy blue tentacle hair with some light purple rings on it, hardly noticeable unless you took the time to look. He had a small moustache, and a stern, hardened face.

"Come on Cici, get up and get to work. You know what to do."

"What am I doing here, dad? Who brought me here?" Cici demanded, but her father did not answer. He simply crossed his arms and gave her a glare, and Cici got up and started to walk out of her room. She found her usual closet, with every cleaning supply she could possibly think about. She backed up, and ran right into her mother.

"Watch where you are going girl, you nearly made me spill my vodka. Now get to work."

"Yes, mom." Cici answered sarcastically, and she earned a slap across the cheek. The Octoling massaged the area of the strike while her mother glared daggers at her.

"Watch your attitude, young lady. Now move!"

"Y-yes." Cici answered quietly, moving from room to room, cleaning every possible spot she thought dirt or dust lurked. Outside, Cici didn't seem like she was affected by any of this, but inside, she felt like she was dying. She felt like someone had beaten her to a pulp and left her to die and rot, becoming part of the earth they lived in.

" _Why!? Why would they do this? How could someone save me and then just bring me back to he-"_ Cici was interrupted from her thoughts when she heard her father marching up to her.

"You're getting sloppy, girl. Are you asking for a beating?"

"No, dad, I'm sor-"

"Your mother told me about your attitude earlier. That's unacceptable."

"I shouldn't have, I-" Cici was lifted from the ground by her neck and slammed against a wall. She whimpered slightly, and her father looked like he wanted to just tear her head off right then and there.

"Stupid, ungrateful bitch! You think you have authority over us? Your mother and I can't believe you have the AUDACITY to talk back to us! And I thought the academy can teach you some manners."

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry…" She could feel him sock her in the gut. She whimpered again as she tried to imagine the pain wasn't there.

"Are you crying? Does this HURT!?" He slammed his fist into her stomach once more, and she held back a yell. Cici attempted to fight back tears, old tears she thought shouldn't ever have returned.

"No...it doesn't hurt." Her dad reeled back his knee before driving it straight into her "private area". Unable to hold it anymore, she screamed in agony as she felt herself drop to the floor, limp. She fell, and the strong, tough "no pain" foundation she tried to build crumbled like a fallen cookie. The old tears flowed freely, breaking from the shackles she had created to hold them in. Her father leaned close to her, kneeling beside her body.

"Now, who's the bitch in this house?"

"I-I am…"

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that." He grabbed her ponytail and pulled her up to make her look at him. Say it again, loud and clear."

"I-"  
"REPEAT!"

"I'm the bitch in this house…" Cici said through tears and sniffles.

"Good. Now back to work, you sloppy mess of flesh." Her father ordered, and Cici's mother kicked her in the face. She could feel the pain now, clutching her forehead as the pain radiated through her body. She couldn't get up. The motivation in her, the drive that told her to keep going, just dissipated. She just lied there, motionless as the tears flowed onto the tile floor of the room she was in. From her angle, it looked as if she made a small river of sadness and despair. Her father came back after what felt like an eternity, and he was angrier than before.

"That's it. It's about time I got rid of you. Octopus form, now." He ordered, the last part sounding very horrific. She did as told, and her father raised his foot up before stomping on her. He could see a few of her tentacles poking out from his boot, and he stomped again, and then again a third time. Cici formed back into an Octoling, bleeding heavily and throwing up ink. She looked up weakly, and her father had a smug smile on his face.

"Good night, baby girl." He told her, and kicked her head, watching as it snapped back and killed her.

Octavia felt lonely, a first in her life. She always had Nemo at her side, and even when he wasn't there, she had Orcus. But now Orcus was busy with his squad mates doing whatever Augustus told them to, and Nemo was busy doing chores with his roommate Trenton. Octavia didn't think it would hurt to visit Cici, see how she's doing. It's been several days, a little over a week now and Cici still hasn't woken up. One of the doctors stationed at the infirmary said it would take some time for her to recover, especially from an injury like that. He did give her some good news, which was that Cici would still be able to use her legs after they are finished healing. Octavia just kept reminding herself about the positives of the situation, something she did often back in the Orphanage before its inevitable destruction. Octavia, lost in her thoughts, accidentally ran into Natalie, who was looking towards the ground as she walked. Both girls butted heads and reeled back a bit, their heads spinning and their vision going a bit weird. They both balanced themselves, and immediately recognized each other.

"Oh hi, uh, Natalie was it?"

"Yes, that's me. I'm so sorry I ran into you. I wasn't paying attention."

"Neither was I, hehe...kind of occupied in my thoughts, you know? So, um...what's up?"

"Hm?" Natalie tilted her head in slight confusion. No one has asked her conversation-starter-esque questions like "what's up" or "how's life" in a while. Most just brushed past her, imagining she never existed. The fact Octavia asked a question like this caught her slightly off guard.

"Oh, um I'm doing okay. Nothing great, nothing horrible. Just...fine." Natalie said after taking a few seconds to muster up an answer. What did this girl see in her? Natalie never thought anyone particularly liked her at all, and that everyone wished she could just go away.

" _What does she see in me? Why me of all people? I wonder, perhaps I'm only the exception since I ran into her first? Surely she would have chosen many others to talk to at this time."_ Natalie told herself.

"Oh, well that's good. I was going to go see Cici at the infirmary."

"Ah, your friend? Shall I accompany you?"

"Sure, if you want. I don't mind, and if Cici wakes up I don't think she would mind either, since you helped to save her life." Octavia told the Octoling. She had sort of a lonely vibe radiating off her, and Octavia felt like she deserved to follow her. After all, like she said, Natalie saved them. Natalie followed Octavia down the hall, and the two casually chatted. Natalie, although she didn't express it there, was overjoyed. Maybe she could actually start talking to a real person and not her "best friend"? She hoped so. Maybe this was a brand new start, that or this girl is just naive as hell.

"So...why were you with Owen, Orcus and Oscar at the boiler room? I recognize those three from my childhood, but I've never seen you before."

"Well, I was chosen apparently because I was top of my class combat wise, as well as academically. Apparently, Augustus needed an "intelligent" person on his team." Natalie explained.

"So, are you from Oyster Orphanage too? I don't recognize you, but you could just be one of those kids I never met before."

"No, I don't recall ever being to an 'Oyster Orphanage'. Why?"

"Oh, well the other three are all from the same building I grew up in. Pretty weird, right? That all of them just happened to reunite again. Well, Owen and Orcus definitely butt heads and neither one likes the other." Octavia said.

"This Orcus fellow...he's nice, right? I mean, he seems to be…"

"Yeah, he's nice. Funny thing, probably shouldn't be telling anyone this, but he felt like maybe the Inklings were here to try to make amends with us or something like that, and he feels maybe the Inklings don't hate us and that we just don't know since we don't live up there."

"Yes. A shame we live in these domes that occasionally collapse and kill hundreds that are unaware." Natalie said. It was a dark thought, but neither could deny it was true.

"What do you think? Do you think that maybe the Inklings don't hate us?"

"I don't know. I've never seen one before, and I don't know what they're like. But yes, I think I agree with Orcus that the Inklings want to make peace."

"Cool. I was just thinking, maybe they-" Octavia was interrupted by a high pitched scream, coming from down the hall around the direction of the infirmary. Curious of what happened, the duo rushed down the hall, with Octavia hoping Cici was still going to be okay.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Cici shouted at the top of her lungs, grasping her neck as she jolted upright. She felt around and her neck felt fine, unlike how she felt when she saw her father's foot come slamming into her head. She observed the area around to see that she was no longer in her home, but rather she was at the infirmary like she should. Cici let out a small sigh of relief as she felt safer than before, and she watched as doctors and nurses rushed to her side to check her vital signs. Just then, Octavia and Natalie rushed into the room, and as soon as she saw them, hope and relief seemed to flood over Cici and she actually felt everything was going to be okay.

"Octavia?" Cici called out weakly, still shaken up from her dream.

"Cici, you're awake!" Octavia exclaimed happily, squeezing through the doctors and nurses to reach her bedridden friend. She hugged Cici, squeezing her tight and the Octoling reciprocated. Cici could feel her tears return, and they flowed down her cheeks. Only this time, something felt different. It felt as if these tears weren't the old tears of pain, but rather tears of joy. She felt secure and safe, knowing her friend was here. Octavia could feel the tears soak into her cadet uniform, and she pulled away.  
"Cici, why are you crying?" Octavia asked, concern in her voice.

"I...I...I feel safe."

"Safe?"

"Yes, safe. I've never been happier to see this room or you."

"I'm confused...but as long as you're okay, I just won't ask any questions."

"No it's fine. I...I just had a bad dream, that's all." Cici told her. She could see Natalie in the back, staying far away from the conversation at hand. She seemed very lonely and shy from Cici's perspective. Octavia noticed Cici staring at her, and she waved for Natalie to come over.

"Natalie, come here! She's awake and okay!"

"Alright, if you say so." Natalie obeyed, and she walked over. Cici gave her a small wave, and Natalie waved back.

"Thank you, for saving me back at the boiler room." Cici told her, but Natalie didn't seem to feel happy for it.

"No no, I was just doing what I thought I should do. Nothing out of the ordinary for me."

"Well, I was saved nonetheless, so thank you." Cici told her. It took a few minutes for the small crowd of nurses and doctors to separate and leave the three alone. Cici leaned back, resting her head on the comfortable pillows. Octavia pulled a chair over, while Natalie chose to stand.

"H-Hey Octavia, can I tell you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"I...I was scared. My dream; it was horrifying."

"Care to explain?" Natalie asked.

Cici grew silent as she began to hesitate. She had never told anyone about _that_. She didn't want anyone to know she, a tough, quiet, emotionless Octoling was actually a crybaby mess. But...Octavia wouldn't mind what she was like, would she?

"When I was younger, my parents forced me to work all the time and do bunch of gruelling tasks like cleaning, fixing the house, cooking, and such. Except, if they weren't satisfied with my effort, which they usually weren't, they would beat me until they felt satisfied once more."

"What…that's horrible…" Octavia muttered in shock and disbelief. She imagined a young Cici being beaten and under attack, and all she was thinking about was scooping the younger version of her friend to just protect her and tell her that everything was okay. If only she could turn back time, and help Cici when she needed someone...

"I was taught not to show any signs of being in pain, and they said it's because if 'the bad people out there' saw I'm weak, they'll pick on me. Every time I winced, whimpered, or cried from the hits, I was hit harder over and over again until I told them I didn't feel it anymore. Sometimes I told them because I couldn't bear it anymore, but they didn't listen and just kept on going…"

"And these people weren't arrested?" Natalie narrowed her eyes.

"No, no one in the area cared. It wasn't their business, and they had no right to intrude." Cici told them, but Natalie and Octavia looked at each other in concern.

"They should have helped you, Cici. Are...are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I should be. Just a bit shaken up from old memories, that's all." As silence fell upon the room again, Cici felt a stew of sadness and resentment brewing up in her. She remembered how she sobbed alone in her room, at night, when her parents were sleeping, and she remembered how she wished for someone to be there, like a brother, or a sister, or a pet, or maybe...a friend. But nobody came.

Why did she have to be alone? Why can't there be someone she can run to? Why can't there be someone who wouldn't bully her, hurt her, mock her and push her around, for once? Why...why does the world seem to be against her and want her to just disappear?

But then, there was Octavia. She was like the one source of light, that candle she could use to find her way through this dark spooky cave. She was that one person who wasn't going to mock or hurt her, someone who could be there to watch her back.

"Cici, you're crying again."

"I'm sorry Octavia, I...I should've told you sooner."

"No Cici, it's okay. I understand why. But," Octavia stood up and held Cici's hand gently. "You won't have to go through that again. Here, you can have a fresh start," And without any warning, she pulled him into another tight hug. "And I will help you through it. I'll be here for you."

Cici froze. Never had anyone displayed this sort of generous, undemanding kindness to her. She wondered just how Octavia had this sort of kind soul for everyone despite the underground hell they're living in. Maybe she will find out someday, when her hope is fully restored.

"Octavia…thank you." Slowly, Cici lifted her arms and returned the hug. Meanwhile, Natalie remained silent as she watched the two reconcile, but inside, she was smiling at Octavia's unrelenting kindness. One could only wonder how this little girl remained so positive. It wasn't long before Cici noticed her being silent.

"Natalie, you've been awfully quiet. Everything alright?" Cici asked. Natalie was caught off guard, but quickly answered.

"Yes, everything is fine. I'm just...not used to conversing with people. Usually I'm alone in my room."

"So, you're pretty lonely, huh? How about this: we all hang out together tomorrow, no spooky areas like the boiler room, no injuries, and just pure fun?" Octavia suggested, a big smile on her face. The other two loved the idea, smiling as well.

"I like the sound of that." Cici told her.

"Agreed" Natalie added. They both nodded, and Octavia seemed satisfied with their answers.

"Alright, then it's settled! Hey Cici, when do you think you could get out of the infirmary?"

"I don't know. Maybe today, although I'll need a wheelchair until my legs heal." Cici answered.

"Alright. Well, at least you're awake now. Bye Cici, we'll see you later!" Octavia told her, and the two Octolings left Cici, who quickly dozed off in the hospital bed, smiling as she did so. No bad dreams, just a nice, relaxing nap before she's out of here.

* * *

Meanwhile, Octavia and Natalie were right back to chatting casually. As they finished, with Natalie deciding to go back to her room, Octavia asked her a question.

"Hey Natalie, you sound different from most Octarians. I was just wondering, what kind of accent is that?"

"Hm? Oh, my accent. I don't know, all I know is that I learned it from my parents. People seem to think it's somewhat beautiful and unique." Natalie responded.

"Cool. Well, see ya!" Octavia told her, and they separated. Natalie walked back to her room, switching the lights on. She grabbed Pi, her stuffed Octotrooper, and sat him on her lap.

"Pi, you won't believe what I did today. I made...I made friends."

* * *

 **That's it for the chapter! A little information on Natalie: my idea for her was originally that she was actually supposed to be from the Orphanage and that she liked hanging out with Owen, but that she was also the kindest of the three (the other two being Oscar and Owen obviously). I kind of wanted to change it though so now she's more lonely and doesn't really like the other two. I just felt like I could do more with her this way. As for Cici...yikes, she came from one ugly household. At least she isn't there anymore, and she now has a friend. For those of you confused about the timeline of right now, this chapter currently takes place two years before Splatoon 1. Also, before I forget, Natalie's "accent" is supposed to be a British accent. Anyways, thanks for reading and be sure to leave a review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Tiny Crush, Tiny Steps**

 **Alright, time for a new chapter! This one took a bit to write, but it's worth it because it's also much longer than the previous chapters! This chapters mainly going to focus on Natalie, and a little bit of Trenton vs. Augustus in their never ending feud. Should be fun, so enjoy!**

* * *

Natalie was sitting in a nice lounge, passing the time by reading a book. The book was one she got from the Academy library, and it definitely looked like it had been used. The pages were creased, soft, and worn at the corners, and some pages had a few tears and rips. The cover was tattered as well, but for the most part the book was still in a readable condition. Natalie was laying down on a long couch, cuddled with several pillows to hoist her head up. Her eyes were half closed, making her appear tired and sleepy. A few Octolings walked up to her, watching her read silently. They didn't say anything, and she just assumed they were looking at something else and so Natalie didn't think much of it. But then one of the Octolings spoke up. It was an Octoling boy, probably a little older than her. He had blue tentacles and large suction cups, with some nice looking lighter blue rings decorating his hair. His body was pretty well-built and he looked strong, but he didn't appear too muscular, at least not when she compared him to Oscar.

"Hey there, you seem a bit bored."

"Nope, not at all. I'm quite enjoying this book." Natalie replied, not taking her eyes away from the words as she continued to read. This didn't deter the boy though.

"Hmph, you definitely look bored out of your mind. Say, what's your name?"

"Natalie Tilus."

"Cool name. You know, maybe you can stop reading that boring book and come follow me for some, ahem, better entertainment."

"I'm fine with where I am." Natalie said, waving him away. But the Octoling persisted, and this was starting to bother her. He sat beside her and leaned in, looking at the page she was currently reading. He felt dangerously close, but she ignored it. Hopefully, Natalie thought, he would just go away if she didn't say anything.

"Meh, this book really is boring. Come on, I have a better way to have fun, and we have plenty of time to do it." Natalie didn't respond. He closed in, wrapping his arm and leg around her. She nudged him over, but he held on tight. His friends on the other hand, either were looking elsewhere, wandered off, or were just watching.

"What do you think you'll achieve from this? What could you possibly think is worth harassing me and distracting me from my reading?"

"I'm distracting you? Well then it looks like it's working. How about we sneak off to my place? My roommate doesn't mi-"

"Leave. Me. Alone."

"Aw, why though?" The boy asked, feigning being offended. Natalie simply rolled her eyes, an even bigger frown now on her face. The boy was still touching her, and this made her feel incredibly uncomfortable and she had the sudden urge to gouge his eyes out. The boy leaned in closer, whispering into her ear.

"Hey, your voice sounds wonderful. I'm sure it'll sound even more wonderful if I heard you moan." His voice sounded unsettling, and she could feel his hot breath linger in her ear. She pushed his head away, and he chuckled slightly. He tried to lean in to Natalie again, grabbing her tentacles and back. She was struggling to get him off, and his "friends" didn't appear to be much help as they just watched, giving him encouraging grins.

"Excuse me, is there a problem?" Both Octolings stopped their struggling and looked up to see another Octoling boy. He had a single large tentacle on his head that dangled from his forehead. His hair was a nice looking maroon color that contrasted from his skin, and he had a nice shade of timber brown for an eye color. His smile looked reassuring and definitely kind, and Natalie definitely thought he looked handsome.

"Yeah, definitely. The problem is this girl is playing hard to get and doesn't want to let me show her some real entertainment!" The blue boy shifted positions and was suddenly on top of Natalie, pinning her arms down. She dropped her book on the floor, and suddenly felt like panicking. She had never felt this way before, and never had this ever happen to her before now. The handsome smile of that red Octoling quickly dissolved into a stern frown as he stepped forward.

"Hey, get off her! That's no way to treat someone!" The Octoling shouted, and he shoved the blue Octoling away from Natalie. He tumbled backwards off Natalie, who leapt back and scramble to her feet, but he quickly got up, a glare directed at the red boy.

"Really!? I'm just here trying to entertain myself with a hot chick when I find some moron like you pushing me around and ruining my fun!"

"Leave her alone. Now." The Octoling demanded. The couch boy's friends started to walk back slowly, and he saw their cowardly faces. Not wanting to be alone, he accepted the ultimatum.

"Fine, fine, have it your way." The Octoling exclaimed angrily as he trudged away, but not before flashing his middle finger at the red Octoling, who didn't seem to be miffed and simply shook his head. "Guys like these, I swear…" His smile quickly returned, and he knelt down to pick up the fallen book, inspecting it before looking at her in the eyes.

"You okay? Here, I think you dropped this." He handed the book back to Natalie, who slowly reached for it and grabbed it. The boy left, walking away and over to another side of the room where he was talking to another Octoling boy, who seemed down and upset sitting at a bar. Natalie looked to see that the book had closed and she lost her page, but she didn't care and just watched her hero from a distance, staring in childish awe.

* * *

 **Earlier…**

Trenton sat beside Marina, watching closely as she worked on some more machines for the Octarian Army. Occasionally he would ask questions, which she happily answered. Whenever she needed tools, Trenton was there to find them and bring them to her, and she was always thankful. He loved times like this, times where he was able to visit his sister despite the fact she was busy with many things.

"Hey Trenton, can you grab me a wrench that's smaller than this one?"

"Sure thing, sis. One wrench, coming right up." Trenton leapt off his stool and hurried over to another table where tools were neatly laid on top, and he scoured the surface looking for the wrench Marina needed. Just then, Trenton heard the double doors slide open, and he groaned as he immediately recognized who it was.

"Hello, my lovely partner." Augustus greeted. "How's work on the Flooders going along? Smooth, I'm guessing?"

"Yep, pretty smooth over here."

"Nice. You know, I'm really liking the fact I chose two new recruits for my team. Definitely the big guy, he looks great. I mean, he hardly fits through the door without banging his head on the top, but totally worth it. He's an absolute beast on the battlefield." Augustus bragged. Marina stopped her work and just listened, while Trenton rolled his eyes and trudged over to his sister, handing her the wrench. She could tell he was annoyed and upset, and knowing how Augustus was, she signalled him to sit beside her so that he wasn't kicked out.

"Oh, your brother is here. That's great, I could really use a smart little guy like him around, especially to show him all my knowledge and absolute genius ideas." Augustus chuckled proudly at himself. Trenton groaned silently, while Marina faked a smile. Augustus didn't seem to notice, too caught up in talking about his plans and ideas.

"Marina, I think all of this work you are doing is really taking a toll on you. I say we go out and do something, maybe have some fancy dinner at my Uncle's palace and discuss science! It would be wonderful, don't you think?" Augustus proposed as he walked over to them, his regular smile on his face.

"Maybe, I'll think about it."

"Ugh." Trenton groaned even more loudly. Augustus quickly turned to face Trenton, seeming slightly miffed.

"What's wrong with that, Trent? I'm not going to steal her or anything, it's just a hang out between two close colleagues."

"Yeah right. Totally not some 'clever' scheme to get my sister to date you or anything." Trenton expressed his annoyance, using air quotations on "clever". Augustus was now starting to get annoyed, but he really didn't want to look cruel in front of Marina by kicking him out.

"Look Trenton, I understand your frustrations but there's really nothing to worry about. Besides, My Uncle would LOVE to talk with this beauty of an engineer about the future of Octarian tech."

"Trenton, trust me, it's not a date. I would know if it was or not, and I would reject him quicker than you can say 'Octo'." Marina told her brother, putting her hands on his shoulders and giving him a lighthearted, reassuring smile. Trenton was still not convinced.

"Hey, I'm right here you know." Augustus said.

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to be insulting. My apologies."

"It's fine, I've moved on. Well, I have more work to do, making sure the stats of all my subjects are in pristine condition and that they are all fully functional and ready for battle."

"When would this 'battle' be?"

"Well, my Uncle refuses to allow me to sic them onto the rest of Octo Valley to hunt for some Inklings, but rest assured they will see combat, I'm sure of it."

"Or maybe never…" Trenton muttered. Unfortunately, Augustus heard him, and so did Marina.

"Trenton, you seem to have little faith in a high class highly intelligent scientist such as myself. Allow me to-"

"No, don't 'teach' me anything, don't 'show' me anything, just stop talking! Stop talking to me like you actually like me, stop trying to impress my sister, stop being so ANNOYING!" Trenton yelled, which caught both Octolings off guard. The usually shy Octoling now didn't seem all that shy anymore, raising his voice and clenching his fists in anger.

"Trenton, Augustus is my friend and I really think he's trying to get along with you."

"Ugh, he's not friendly at all Marina!"

"Hey Trenton, how about we calm down and just settle-" Augustus was interrupted by a fist slamming across his face, his head snapping aside. He turned back and felt ink leak from the corner of his mouth, and he felt his bruised jaw as it pulsates with pain. Trenton had punched him out of frustration and anger, but once he realized what he did, he started to back away. Augustus no longer looked all that friendly now, and he pulled out a walkie talkie and started to speak into it.

"Security, I request a certain Octoling to be removed from the lab. He is not to be allowed back in, and should he come back in you are to escort him off the premises." Augustus ordered. Only a few minutes later, a group of Elite Octolings stormed the lab and grabbed Trenton and began to drag him out. He kicked and struggled as he tried to fight back, but they dragged him out and all he could do was watch Marina, who seemed ashamed at him, and Augustus, a big evil looking smirk on his face, holding that walkie talkie by it in satisfaction. The doors closed, and all he could do was shout in anger.

* * *

"Hey Trent, I'm sure Marina would allow you back in. After all, that's the only time you two see each other." Nemo told his friend. The two sat at the small bar located at the recreational lounge. The lounge seemed pretty nice, with comfortable chairs and sofas all around, and Octolings were everywhere. Some played some board games on a table, while a few others talked to each other and conversed, mingling and getting to know each other more. The room walls were painted in a nice shade of pink, and the shadows gave the room a slightly more darker tone in color, with a few ceiling lamps lighting the room. There were only a few windows, but most were covered by curtains.

"So what? Augustus is probably higher ranking than her. He's the King's nephew, for cod's sake!" Trenton covered his face with his hands. "What was I even thinking…"

"Well, I think that guy deserved a nice punch across the jaw. He always came off as weird and crazy to me. Kind of like a stereotypical mad scientist."

"Except this guy is actually mad." Trenton muttered under his breath before sinking his head into his arms. The bartender looked down at him before looking at Nemo.

"Hey, is this kid alright?"

"Yeah, he's just in a bad mood. And he just got kicked out of a place his sister works at."

"Rough day?"

"Rough day, indeed." Nemo answered, and the bartender nodded. He was an older gentleman, with a small tentacle beard growing. He had a slight pot belly, and had short tentacle hair that was gray with light tan tips.

"Normally I would give someone like him a drink, but I think he's too young."

"You have any non-alcoholic drinks back there?" Nemo asked. He nodded, and Nemo asked to have two that the bartender thought would be good. The bartender served the drinks quickly, and Nemo took a nice sip from his drink while setting one next to Trenton. That's when he saw a few Octolings in the distance crowding around a couch, and when he squinted he noticed an Octoling boy getting a bit too close to a girl and making her uncomfortable.

"Hey Trenton, I'll be right back. Just gotta teach someone a little manners." Nemo said as he got up and casually walked over. Trenton looked up and watched as Nemo talked with the guy, and then he saw Nemo push the guy over when he started to get on top of the poor girl.

"I wish I could do that to Augustus. Just push him away and get him away from Marina. Get him to stop brainwashing her and ruining her." Trenton muttered to himself. Nemo quickly came back, a satisfactory smile on his face.

"Got 'em."

"Cool. You think I could do that to Augustus one day?"

"Trenton, I feel like that's coming real soon." Nemo said confidently. He looked over to the girl, who seemed to be watching them from afar.

"Hey, seems like you got a new admirer." Trenton commented.

"Yeah, seems so. She's kind of cute, to be honest. I feel like I've seen her somewhere, but don't know where…" Nemo pondered, but couldn't remember.

"Eh, could be someone else. After all, she has the very common hairstyle of most troops."

"True." Nemo agreed and the two friends talked to one another while taking sips of their drinks.

Natalie kept a straight face as she walked down the hall, but her mind was still on the red boy that saved her from those harassing pricks just now. He looked so handsome, and he was certainly brave, if him pushing that brute off her proved anything. Of course, she probably could have dealt with the situation herself, but she panicked and really didn't know what to do. Strangely enough, that Octoling could have minded his own business and not have helped her. After all, everyone else in the room ignored it and really didn't care at all about what was going on.

"Hey, it's you!" Natalie looked up to find a familiar Octoling. "Orcus...Delfino?"

"Yep, that's me." Orcus affirmed. "What's up with you?" Natalie answered, and while she didn't really see him as a friend, he was the only teammate she actually liked.

"Oh, well I guess...hmm, maybe we should talk somewhere else more comfortable? I'd hate to force you to stand all day, especially when there's many places here to sit."

"Yeah, sounds good to me. Let's go."

* * *

 **Later on…**

The two returned to the nature park area of the academy. Orcus found a small bench under a tree and the two quickly sat down, watching some Octarians stretching and jogging around the park. The place was relatively quiet, a nice break from the hustle and bustle of within the academy and a perfect place for Natalie to rest her racing mind.

"So, what's been happening, Natalie?" Orcus asked.

"Well, some boys tried to uh, 'do stuff' to me at the recreational lounge just now." She shuddered involuntarily at the memory of that brute pinning her down. "L-Like, take me to a quiet room and uh…"

"Ah, _that_. I've heard of cases like that back in another academy as well. Guys like them, they'd do anything for a 'good time', know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah. Anyway, uh, there was this red guy that saved me." Her hearts seemed to beat faster at the thought of that brave Octoling. "He even pushed the freaks off me."

"Oh really?" Orcus raised a brow. "Know who he is?"

"I'm not sure; I don't think I've met him before." Natalie shook her head, her red tentacles swaying slightly. "He's red, just like me, but he has a single tentacle through the middle of his head and it kinda hangs before his face a little. He also has brown eyes. I've never met him before, for sure."

Orcus slowly processed the features of this heroic Octoling and soon a friend came to his mind. "Ah, I think I know who you're talking about."

"R-Really?" Natalie quickly looked at Orcus straight in the eyes. "Do tell me."

"Alright, you know the girl that we met in the boiler room a few days ago? No, not the one that Oscar nearly killed; the other one, her friend."

"Oh, Octavia?"

"Yes. She has a brother, Nemo, who, if my guess is correct, is the Octoling that saved you."

"Oh. Oh wow." Natalie turned away from Orcus and began to fiddle with her fingers. She'd have to find Octavia later and ask her more about Nemo. She still wondered why he would bother to save her, an Octoling he had never met.

"Wh-why did he save me?"

"Hm? Oh, well that's just Nemo. Back then, he used to help out tons of people in the Orphanage where we grew up. Sure, he got himself into lots of trouble often and sometimes came back to us worse for wear, but that's never stopped him. Whenever he sees someone in trouble, he's likely the first person you'll see to jump in and help." Orcus explained.

"Interesting...how is he, as a person, if I may add?"

"Nemo? Well, he's pretty nice, great guy to be friends with. Would always help you out as long as you don't take advantage of him. Oh yeah, he's super protective of his sister." Natalie just nodded as she listened to Orcus explain more in depth, but soon the Octoling boy stopped speaking and just looked at her with a funny look before chuckling.

"Wait a second...you don't, you know, have a thing for him, right?" Natalie was immediately taken aback by his comment. She could feel her ears get warmer, and she felt a blush creeping up to her face.

"What? Of course not, I just um...I just wanted to know the Octoling who saved me, that's all."

"Okay…" Orcus said, although Natalie had a feeling he didn't believe her.

"What?"

"Come on, admit it, you've fallen for the 'love at first sight' trick."

"I did not!"

"Totally did. You're blushing so hard, pal. If only you could see own your face right now."

"I-I…am I actually blushing?"

"Yes. Very hard." Orcus answered, a smile on his face. He could see Natalie seemed slightly upset and flustered, so he attempted to cheer her up. Besides, he thought this would be an interesting thing to tell Nemo later.

"Hey, it's not a bad thing. I mean, Nemo's a cool guy, bet you could hang out with him if you actually get to talk to the guy. First things first: just try to talk with him face to face. That way, you get to know him better somewhat. It might feel hard and impossible, but trust me, it feels easy once you start. Folks say it takes 21 days to build a habit."

"I don't know, I feel like he sees me as a recluse. A sad, lonely recluse who is destined to live and die a sad lonely life." Orcus frowned a bit, feeling a little sorry for the girl.

"Aw, I don't think Nemo would think something like that."

"Think something like what?" Orcus and Natalie both looked up to see the Octoling in question, arms crossed, looking down on where they sat. He had a small smirk on his face, and his surprise appearance made Natalie just want to flop dead on the spot.

"Oh, we were just talking about you." Orcus explained. Nemo stared at his friend, who just gave a small shrug before he realized Natalie was sitting there.

"Hey, I recognize you. You're that shy girl I helped earlier, right?"

"Y-yes, that w-would be me." Natalie muttered, almost too faintly for Nemo to hear. Natalie felt like everyone in the nature park area was staring at her, and she felt like shrinking into her Octopus form and super jumping away from the situation. Of course, only cowards do that, and in no way was Natalie a coward, nuh-uh.

"Hey, you okay?" Nemo asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Natalie said, much more clearly than the last time.

"So, you two are part of Augustus' new gang?"

"Eh, gang's not really the word. More like servants, or minions." Orcus answered, making Nemo laugh.

"Wait, so did he perform those weird experiments on all of you guys or…"

"Yeah, he did that to us right after we were assigned." Natalie responded.  
"Wait, so how come you couldn't punch those guys out earlier? I mean, I'm not trying to criticize you or anything, just curious, that's all." Nemo asked Natalie.

"I think I just panicked. Nothing like that has ever happened to me before. Usually, people left me alone…"

"Well, this Academy is more strict and considering guys and girls can't see each other unless during meals and free time, I see why you got picked."

"They should learn to have some self-control and restrain themselves from such...disgusting hobbies." Natalie said, expressing her outright disgust for the boys from earlier. She really didn't understand how the King could keep cadets like them around, and seeing how much more of a liability they were, she felt like they should all be thrown out.

"Yeah. Hey, I gotta go for a second, see you two later." Orcus told them, and he got up before running away. Natalie wanted to chase after him, begging him to stay and not embarrass her, but for some reason her body wouldn't move. She just stayed right where she was, frozen in fear.

"Hey, mind if I sit here?" Nemo asked, grabbing her attention back to him.

"Not at all."

"Thanks." Nemo sat right where Orcus once was on the bench, and he admired the trees around the nature area. Everything looked so green and colorful, and there were some beautiful flowers that had bloomed and decorated the vast green area around the paths. Lights from the ceiling pierced through the spaces between the bunches of leaves, reflecting off of the surfaces. Natalie admired the nature here. Sometimes, she wondered if the surface was this beautiful, or maybe even more.

"Have you ever thought about what the surface looks like?"

"Hm? Yeah, several times. It must be bright, colorful, and lively." Nemo told her. He picked up a fallen leaf and started to fidget with it.

"I wonder what the Inklings think of us."

"Probably hate us."

"You think so? Orcus said the Inklings he met were nice." Natalie mentioned, and Nemo just shrugged.

"Well, kind of hard to believe when he was in combat with them."

 _I'm doing it...I'm talking to him! Maybe this is what Orcus was talking about? Better not screw this up…_ Natalie thought in her head, trying to keep the conversation between the two going. As she did so, she took some small glances at Nemo, who was whistling a tune. He seemed pretty well-built and slightly muscular, and she thought his single-tentacled hairstyle looked cute.

"Liking what you see?" Nemo asked out of the blue, catching the girl off-guard.

"I uh…"

"Heh, it's fine. I saw you looking at me earlier."

 _Was I?_ Natalie thought. "S-sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable? I'm fine. I'm flattered that you like me that way though."

"You're trying to mess with me, aren't you? Did Orcus tell you to come here?"

"Maybe...maybe not…" Nemo said before tossing the leaf aside, putting his hands behind his head and resting it on his palms. He leaned back and released a small sigh, feeling nice and relaxed. Meanwhile, Natalie was being a flustered mess, her hearts beating incredibly fast and her ears heating up and feeling tingly again. "N-Nemo, you don't think I'm weird, do you?"

"I mean, I hardly know you, but so far you seem alright to me. A bit shy and easily flustered, but you seem alright for the most part."

"Oh, I just thought you saw me as a weird recluse."

"Really? Compared to people I've seen recently, you aren't really weird."

"Augustus?" Natalie asked, and Nemo chuckled.

"Now there's a weird person right there. Absolutely strange, and possibly insane."

"Yes, I can see that. I originally didn't want to be experimented on, but I had no choice, being ordered by someone who's of higher rank."

"Yeah. How did it feel though, the experiment anyways?"  
"I can't really describe it. I was told to go into this pod, and then it was filled with some pink ink, and then I remember feeling cold, then warm, then sleepy, and then I blacked out. When they opened the pod, I started coughing up a storm and gasping for air."

"Huh. Did you feel different?"

"No, not at all. I felt like I was being killed though." Natalie said.

"Ouch. Remind me not to go back into that lab unless necessary. I might ask Orcus about it and see if he had the same experience." Nemo told her. There was some silence between the two, and no more words were exchanged as they just watched the trees and flowers around them. Finally, Nemo spoke up.

"Hey, you want to go somewhere else? Maybe do something else besides sitting here?" Natalie stared at him, slightly taken aback. Nemo realized he sounded like the guys from earlier, and immediately apologized.

"Sorry, poor choice of words. I meant doing something el- damn it, those guys are making me ask someone to do other stuff difficult." All of the sudden, Natalie started to giggle, which surprised both Nemo and herself. Nemo had never seen this Octoling smile, only with either a frown or just no expression, while Natalie was surprised she laughed like this, especially since she hadn't done so in a while.

"What's so funny?" Nemo asked, also on the brink of joining her laughter.

"I just think it's amusing how you're trying not to sound like the weirdos from earlier asking me to do 'stuff' with them, only to realize they were asking their questions disguised in ways people normally would."

"Heh, makes sense."

"And yes, I would love to go somewhere else."

"Alright. Just a second, I need to stretch." Nemo said, and Natalie just nodded. After Nemo stretched for a bit from sitting on the bench for a while, they both walked down the quiet, peaceful path that led outside the nature area.

"So, where to?"

"I don't know. You lead the way."

"Hard for me to lead when even I don't know where to go." Nemo joked, elbowing her playfully. She elbowed back, and the two laughed as they walked down the halls, chatting with one another.

 _She's definitely cute. I should probably hang out with her more often._ Nemo thought. _Though, she seems kinda sad and lonely. Has anyone ever hung out with her?_

 _I can't believe it; I'm actually talking to him! This is great, I should talk to Pi. Or maybe Orcus or Octavia, since I guess they are my friends. Right? Do I have friends?_ Natalie asked herself, unsure but happy at the same time. All her life, everyone's ignored her or shoved her aside. She wished her parents were still here. They always listened when she babbled on. That's what she does best, right? Ramble on and on about unimportant stuff. It wasn't a surprise no one wanted to talk to her or listen to her. But Nemo, he did. Maybe he won't judge her. Maybe like her parents, he'd also listen to her. She'd just have to wait and see. _Maybe…_

"I wonder how Octavia's doing…" Nemo muttered to himself, unaware that Natalie heard it as well. He had found little time to check on her, and the last time they saw each other, she was still distressed over her roommate's condition. It was rare to see her so blue and dejected. He could only hope she would swing back to her old self again when her roommate wakes up.

"Oh, Octavia. She's your sister, right?" Natalie piped up.

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"Oh, Orcus told me."

"Ah, I see. She's been pretty down these days; her roommate got herself into the infirmary, and it seems kinda serious."

"Nah, they're both alright now." Nemo turned his head to face Natalie, surprised by what she just said. "Really?"

"Yeah, her roommate's woken up and they've both reconciled with each other." For some reason, Natalie felt herself smile again when she recalled Octavia pulling Cici into a hug. Cici could really call herself lucky to have such a cheerful, helpful and kind room- no, _friend_ like Octavia. It's rare to find such people in the chaotic underground they live in. "I was there."

"Ah, so you three know each other."

"Yes."

"So are you guys friends?" The last word caught her off guard, once more. Well, with everything that had happened, she knew which answer she would give.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Oh cool. Nice to see Octavia's enjoying this place."

"You aren't?" Natalie asked, one eyebrow rising above the other as she stared at Nemo in curiosity.

"Eh, it's so-and-so. I mean, I originally transferred here to get away from Owen, who was back at my old military academy. I just...I just didn't want to see much of anyone from my old life."

"I see…so, where did you come from?"

"Some garbage, run down Orphanage. The owners didn't bother to fix up the place or take care of it. As long as it made them money, they felt everything was fine. Inside, it was a literal war for everything. Food, clothes, sometimes even places to sleep…"

"Yikes."

"Yep. The nicest parts were on the upper floors. That's where Owen and several of the stronger kids were. Me and Octavia? We lived in the filthy basement where you couldn't see. It was miserable. Fights started to get more violent, people started to die, and then there was one fight that took out a supporting pillar. The whole building was collapsing, and most of us made it out. A few kids left behind were killed, and actually, I thought Orcus didn't make it because he never showed up." Natalie felt bad for Nemo, who looked like these memories were taking a nasty toll on him, giving him a heavy burden. She felt remorse for the Octoling, and wished she could do something about it.

"Hey, sorry for ruining the mood."

"No, it's fine. You were just answering my question, I probably shouldn't have asked anyway." Natalie replied. They both smiled lightly to each other, and the depressing memories seemed to drift away from Nemo's thoughts. Natalie still could see that they had hurt him, and without realizing it, reached out her hand and held Nemo's. This shocked Nemo, who didn't expect the contact, but he just simply shrugged and continued to walk with her.

"S-sorry." Natalie apologized quietly, letting go of Nemo's hand as she suddenly realized what she was doing.

"Huh? Oh that. I don't really mind. I just thought you were trying to comfort me."

"Oh, well...I guess. I didn't realize I had held your hand though, so sorry."

"It's fine, really, it is." Nemo tried to reassure her. They stayed silent for a bit, until Nemo reached for Natalie's hand.

"Huh?"

"Hey, I said it's fine, didn't I?" Nemo chuckled lightly. Several Octoroopers passing by stared at them, probably wondering what the hell the two were doing.

"I guess. Oh wait, I almost forgot, where are we going?" Natalie asked. Nemo scratched his head, completely forgetting to think about that part.

"Uh...I don't know. Want to go and try to find Octavia?" Nemo asked, thinking of something to do off the top of his head.

"Sure, sounds good to me." Natalie nodded in agreement, and they just walked down the hall before turning a corner, disappearing in the endless maze of hallways that made up the Academy.

* * *

 **Heh, seems like Natalie and Nemo are starting to like each other...Anyways, this is the last chapter for the events occurring 2 years before Splatoon 1. Next chapter, we'll be starting to get into Splatoon 1, where things get a little bit more crazy, especially with Augustus. Also expect some more action sequences in chapters after this. Well, that's all for now, so enjoy the rest of your day and be sure to leave a review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**That's Right, We Stole the Zapfish**

 **We are now at chapter 10 everyone! And better yet, we've moved 2 years ahead to the events of Splatoon 1, where things get a little bit more hectic and crazy for the Octarians, especially for our main cast of Octolings. I hope you guys are enjoying everything so far, because things are about to get better. You might even see some Inklings later, who knows? Oh right, you should be reading the chapter instead of reading this author's note, so how about I stop talking so you can read? Sounds good, anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

 **2 Years Later…**

"Happy Birthday, Trenton!" Everyone exclaimed happily, surrounding the birthday boy in question. Around the lab, decorations like long blue ribbons were hung around the room. Balloons covered the ceiling and were tied to the multitude of chairs around the lab. Tables were cleared of their tools, machines, and metallic parts and were instead occupied by presents and food, as well as a few party game items. In less than a few minutes, the lab was turned from a science lab full of machines and experimental devices to a decorative party room. The only guests were those Trenton was close with, who were few in numbers. Everyone wore party hats decorated with tiny cyan octopuses, and the whole atmosphere was cheerful and full of joy all around. The soundproof walls seemed to conceal this joy from the outside world of the Academy, where life was full of mishaps and problems.

"Happy birthday Trenton! How does it feel to be fifteen?" Nemo asked, wrapping his arm around Trenton's shoulders. The Octoling in question had a big happy grin on his face, and was enjoying every bit of this event.

"Feels great! This has to be the best day of my life right now!" Trenton exclaimed happily.

"Time to cut the cake, guys!" Marina announced, and everyone got in a small line as she took a knife and parted the cake into small, even slices. As the guests got their slices, they sat down at one of the cleared tables nearby.

"I'm surprised we even pulled this off. I'm assuming Augustus doesn't know?" Octavia asked Marina, who was the last person to get a slice and took a seat across from Trenton.

"Oh, he has no idea. I mean, I wouldn't have been able to pull this off is he had known. But we are taking a risk here. If he finds out, I could get in serious trouble." Marina explained.

"Doubt it, considering he's got a mindless crush on you." Cici added. Marina already knew this, and she knew Augustus probably would only give her a light reprimanding, but if he knew Trenton had come to the lab after being banned...well, Trenton would be far worse off.

"The risk is still there, for everyone here in fact. But it's worth it, being able to celebrate my brother's birthday. I'm sorry for not being there, Trent."

"No, no, it's fine. You had a job to do, and you were busy." Trenton said, even though the two years of hardly seeing his sister was a bit hard on him.

"It still doesn't excuse the fact that I couldn't see you and that it just put so much of a burden on your shoulders…" Marina sadly told him. Trenton forgave her several times, and he knew that those two years were taking a toll on Marina as well.

"But let's forget about all the sad stuff. It's my birthday after all, so it should be a happy memory for all of us! Let's not ruin it with things from the past."

"Trenton's right. Man, this cake is delicious, where did you get it?" Nemo asked, taking a big bite from his slice. Octavia chuckled at the sight as she took a small bite from hers.

"Oh, I was with Augustus at the King's palace reviewing our latest stuff, when I asked Octavio himself if I could have a cake. He seems to like me and thought I deserved one for my hard work, so that's where I got it."

"Woah, you got the cake from the King himself? That's quite the feat." Natalie said, surprised the King of all people got the cake.

"Yeah, but I guess that's one of the perks for working with the King's slightly-crazy nephew." Marina chuckled, twirling her finger close to her ear and making the "cuckoo-crazy" sign. This got several laughs from everyone, who all admitted they don't like Augustus.

"So Natalie, have you or Orcus gone on any missions lately?"

"Nope, neither of us." Natalie replied.

"Yeah, there's been a few Inkling encounters, but the King kept telling Augustus not to send us, saying the Inklings weren't proving a threat to us and were probably just scouting. I highly doubt that, but who knows." Orcus added.

"Not to mention the fact that us not being deployed is making Owen a bit more agitated." Natalie told them, which was very noticeable. In the past few years, they often saw Owen harassing other cadets and even sending a few to the infirmary. Of course, Augustus always makes sure that Owen remains a key part of his team, mostly because of how valuable of a warrior he is.

"Let's talk about something else less upsetting. Like...oh, I know! Nemo and Natalie!" Octavia suggested.

"What?" Both Octolings asked, surprised the topic changed to them. The surprise on their faces made Trenton laugh.

"Come on, it's totally obvious you two are a thing." Octavia continued.

"Via, we are not. We just...hang out a lot, that's all. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"You guys hold hands literally 95% of the time you two are near each other though." Cici added, and Nemo was scratching the back of his head, uncertainty written all over his face.

"Hey, they have a point." Orcus chimed in.

"Guys guys, we uh, we're just friends. There really isn't anything going on between the two of us. Besides, isn't holding hands a normal thing friends do? I mean, you hold Cici's hands sometimes, right Via?"

"Nope. Never." Octavia answered honestly, a smile on her face as she's watching her brother look more embarrassed by the second.

"She's hugged me a few times against my will, but we don't hold hands." Cici added.

"You've been awfully quiet, Natalie. Anything you want to say?" Orcus asked politely.

"Well, I mean, I would consider me and Nemo a thing." Nemo just looked defeated at that point, and Octavia cheered victoriously. Nemo then wrapped one arm around Natalie and pulled her closer to him.

"Okay, fine, we like each other. Happy now, Via?"

"You know, this could have been over more quickly."

"Yeah yeah, I know." Nemo said. Natalie leaned her head on his shoulder, and then Nemo leaned his head on hers as they watched Trenton jump from his seat.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot to open the gifts you guys got me!" Trenton exclaimed as he rushed off to another table, Marina following close behind to help him. The gifts were mostly small things, since cadets couldn't really afford anything and most of them barely had any money, if at all. Trenton still appreciated the gifts he got, like a combat guide from Orcus and a small but nicely decorated card from Octavia. Marina's gift was a small device that had a recording of a song she made. Recently, Marina had gotten interested in music, having been around the King often when Augustus brought her to present their progress on several projects they were doing. She loved the beats of his rhythm and just the overall flow of his songs, which always lingered in Marina's mind as she hummed the tunes whenever she walked down the halls or when she was alone. Trenton thought her new interest in music was cool, and couldn't wait to enjoy what song she created. The song was short, only a few seconds long, but Trenton liked the sound of it and thought his sister's voice was beautiful. Hearing that song sort of made him wish internally that she would give up her job as a high class engineer and would just be a skilled musician instead. At least then, the creepy and foreboding threat of Augustus would be gone.

"I like it Marina, it's pretty good, especially for the first thing you make. I'm sure it needs some work, since it's pretty short, but it's a good start!"

"Thanks Trenton, happy to hear you like the present. Took me a few months to come up with the lyrics." Marina told him, a satisfied smile on her face. The party was coming to a close, and everyone was helping Marina to clean up and put things back where they were. This meant the small mounds of makeshift wrapping paper would be taken down and replaced by the machine parts and metallic tools from before. The decorative streamers and ribbons were taken down, and the cake was stored away by Marina, who put it inside a fridge she had in the lab. Everyone was leaving, and Trenton seemed to be sad now. Now that his birthday was over, it was going to be yet another year of not seeing his sister.

"Marina, you'll find a way for us to be together without me having to come here, right?" Trenton asked as he was walking towards the exit, the familiar doors welcoming him out the lab just like they did every time Augustus threw him out.

"Don't worry Trenton, I will find time to see you here and there. You're always on my mind and you're family, don't forget about that." Marina assured him, and Trenton gave her a big hug. As the two siblings hugged it out, the rest watched from the doorway.

"Aw, that's so adorable." Octavia commented.

"Have you and Nemo ever done something similar?" Cici asked her best friend.

"Well, sometimes yeah. But I definitely know those two like hugging each other and being all lovey-dovey." Octavia said, pointing to Nemo and Natalie. Nemo just groaned, while Natalie just stood beside him, not saying anything. Her expression was blank and empty.

"Okay, why does every conversation always end up about me and Natalie?"

"I don't know, maybe because you kept denying it earlier when it was obvious?" Natalie suggested.

"I thought you were on my side." Nemo said, seemingly defeated.

"There's sides?" Natalie asked, which Nemo just shrugged. Orcus and Octavia laughed, and they waited until Trenton came over to them before walking away from the lab.

"So...I heard the King's got big plans." Nemo said out of the blue.

"Yeah, apparently he has some plan to do with the Inklings, but he doesn't really tell anyone except high ranking leaders and Augustus. As much as a guy like Augustus talks, he never says anything specific about it. All he really says is something 'big' is going to happen, and that we should be ready."

"Huh. Well, I'm hoping we don't start another War. I think the last thing we need right now is that." Cici said, and they all agreed.

"Whatever this 'big' plan is, it shouldn't be that bad. I have faith in my King, and I don't think starting another Great Turf War is in his best interests. Besides, if it's not that, then what could possibly go wrong?" Nemo said. A few of them shrugged and nodded as they walked down the hall. Things seemed fine…

Until Octavia slapped Nemo on the back of his head.

"Ow! Hey, what was that for Via?"

"I just realized what you just said. You said 'what could possibly go wrong?'."

"And that means you can just slap me on the back of my head? That hurt!"

"But that's one thing you should never say! I mean, just think of all the bad consequences that could happen, especially the really bad ones!"

"Oh come on, nothing's going to happen. You've been reading too much books." Nemo said, waving her off. Octavia sighed and crossed her arms, while Natalie shot a glare at Nemo.

"And reading too much books is a problem?" Natalie asked, and Nemo kind of regretted what he just said, especially to his crush, who often read books in her free time. After all, there really wasn't much to do in the Academy. Many hard working cadets trained all day and every day, a few played games in the recreational lounges, some read the books that were available to all the cadets attending, and a few number of cadets took part in...some activities and "entertainment" that Nemo did not want to discuss, and neither did anyone else, especially Natalie.

"Well, I didn't mean THAT, but come on, one phrase isn't going to change the whole world or make a different outcome of events. If it did, then people would be way too worried about what they say. No one would even bother to talk anymore." Nemo said.

"Alright…" Natalie muttered, and Nemo held her hand as they walked away. Cici and Octavia left first, turning a corner and going to their room, while Orcus went to go join a card game happening in a entertainment room they walked past. Trenton followed Natalie and Nemo to the library, where both Octolings read the same book together, with Natalie holding it and Nemo peering from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. Trenton, meanwhile, sat in the back on a chair, staring at Marina's music device and thinking to himself about her.

* * *

The crowd of Octarians was ginormous. No, ginormous wasn't the word to describe it. The huge amount of people was astounding. Every Octarians from every dome, every corner, every crevice in their underground home, had come to listen to their King speak. He had announced that what he was going to say was important, and that all Octarians, no matter what kind, should attend and listen to the "solution" he has for all their problems. The audience was loud, talking among themselves, many asking their friends and family about what the King would say, a few trying to guess and predict what he is going to tell them. However, no one really knew what was in store, and soon enough the random erratic chatter was replaced by rambunctious roars and cheers as they saw DJ Octavio come up on stage, creating some beats with his spicy wasabi stalks. The stage was huge, with large, luminous flashing lights lighting the whole dome. Large speakers the size of small buildings were on either side, and there were several large screens projecting their leader so all could see him. After playing some catchy music to get their spirits and morale going and boosted, Octavio stopped and the crowd cheered, many of them clapping. He loved his audience, the fact that they all loved him, his music, and his leadership.

"Greetings, mah fellow eight tentacled citizens! I'm assuming you're enjoying mah spicy wasabi beats!?" Octavio asked the crowd, and they went wild with their cheers.

"That's great to hear, fans! You know, way back when, before the Great Turf War, I had a small following. But it grew bigger and bigger, and now look at me now! Now I can present all these catchy tunes and spicy beats to you all! But enough of my music, it's time I get serious and down to business!" Octavio told them, and the crowd died down as they listened to their leader speak, all of them eager what he was about to say.

"All of you know what happened at the end of the War, yeah? We got banished, left underground! Those damn Inklings took our sources of power, our land, our freedom! We've strived to live with these consequences for years, and we've all been doin' pretty good with it! But as I look out mah window every day, I see more misery, more sufferin'! As your King, I can't allow any more of this to happen! Domes are collapsin', we're runnin' out of power in some places, people die...it's miserable, and I think you all can agree!"

"YEAH!" The crowd cheered. Among the crowd was Nemo and Octavia, as well as all of their friends. After all, all Octarians were called to the dome. Octavia and Nemo cheered for their leader, both of them having suffered plenty in their life to understand. Beside them, Orcus cheered along. It seemed as if this assembly united all the Octarians as one, the crowd and mix of many different Octarians combined to create one strong voice.

"Well guess what my fellow cephalopods? This ends NOW! We take back what we lost, we take it all back! It's time we get our lives back the way they were before the Great Turf War! No more sufferin', no more dome collapses, no more unnecessary casualties, NONE OF THAT! It's time we get our lives back on track, and to start this powerful movement, this genius plan, I have somethin' to show you all!" Octavio told them, and he looked behind him as the giant stage started to transform, parts moving around and shifting, until something started to rise from behind Octavio. Several gigantic metal parts turned and separated to present a large metal box.

"Ooh, a metal box! I'm sure you all are wonderin' what's inside! Well, let's take a look, shall we?"

"YEAH!" The crowd shouted in unison. The box started to open, and surely but slowly, a long but thick, dark figure was revealed. The figure was pretty slender for its size but one end was thicker than the other, and two long antennae-looking things were attached to it. There were some fin-like appendages protruding from the figure, and there were a pair of big eyes staring at the crowd. The eyes were small compared to its head, but for an Octoling the eyes were huge. The eyes were the only thing they could see though, as it was too dark to see the massive figure completely.

"No way...that can't be what I seriously think it is…" Both Nemo and Natalie muttered. Natalie felt like she's seen a figure like this with features very similar, if not exactly like it, in a book from the library she would read during the boring hours of free time, before Nemo came along and often snuggled in beside her.

"What is that?" Octavia asked.

"Why do I feel uneasy about this?" Trenton mumbled to himself quietly.

"Is that a gun? Looks like one hell of a stupid looking gun." Owen mocked.

"Bigger than me…" Oscar muttered.

"This is it...Octavio is finally doing something useful for once!" Augustus was literally jumping up and down from excitement. He already knew what it is, he had already been informed of what Octavio wanted to do, and that he succeeded. He just can't wait for the public to wrap their heads around it, just as this figure did to the areas it inhabits.

Soon enough, large spotlights were activated, shining long, bright, white and beautiful beams of light. The spotlights turned and aimed at the figure, and now everyone can all see what the mysterious figure was. Its body was long, slender, and curly, its smooth scales reflecting the light shone onto it from the spotlights. The dark, reflective black color of its scales had some hints of very dark navy blue coloring on it, which contrasted to the light tone of its pale skin. The mustard yellow fins had a green outline to them that connected it to the black, and its long fins stretched across its body, as well as having two smaller, circular fins beside its massive head. The small beady eyes stared blankly at the crowd, and its big lips made a smile that seemed to contrast everything it was probably thinking. The creature also had two yellow whiskers that were in several curls, all evenly shaped and sized. And the crowd could only watch and stare in absolute awe as they were just looking at what their leader brought them.

"That's right, mah fellow Octarian brethren! I just STOLE the GREAT ZAPFISH!" Octavio shouted to the crowd in victory. The audience was silent. Octavio lowered his tentacles, and his eyes seemed uneasy and he seemed to be worried at their silence. Suddenly, the crowd roared and cheered, shouting Octavio's name gloriously. Many pumped their fists into the air victoriously, shouting cries and cheers. His people loved this. Never had he dared to try to do something as big as this, but a big problem calls for a big solution, and Octavio just gave them all the biggest, the best solution he could find. That's right, he stole the Great Zapfish, and he wasn't about to let those Inklings take it back.

"G-guys, wait up! Don't leave me!" Trenton called out, following closely behind Nemo, Octavia, and Cici as they weaved their way through the rowdy crowd. Victorious cheers and nationalistic shouts echoed throughout the dome, lingering in the group's ears. The Octarians needed a morale booster, something to influence them to continue on, giving them hope for better lives. Well, this was the morale booster they needed, and the Octarians in the dome were shouting like crazy, praising their King. Very slowly, the crowd dispersed and all who attended returned to their homes, barracks, and domes. As they left the dome, Nemo managed to find Natalie and Orcus, both looking around aimlessly among the confusion created by the sea of Octarians. Nemo reached his hand out and grabbed Natalie, pulling her towards him. She felt lost and confused, and suddenly she felt Nemo hug her.

"You okay? You seemed a bit lost." Nemo whispered. Natalie felt comfortable in his arms, protected from the swarm of Octarians she didn't even know.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Natalie leaned her head on his chest and listened closely to his steady heartbeat.

"Hey,don't forget about me." Orcus managed to squeeze through two obese Octostrikers before reaching the group.

"Let's get out of here, it's a bit too busy here." Orcus suggested, and they all agreed, running back to the Academy dome.

* * *

 **In a Bar/Recreation Room…**

The group found a place in a bar where they could talk privately. Only a few soldiers were there minus the bartender. A few were sitting in the booths around the walls of the room, privately having conversations about the recent announcement made by Octavio. In the middle was a round table, and surrounding it were several Octoling cadets, all huddled around and playing an intense card game. They also started to talk about Octavio and the Great Zapfish, all the while having fun playing their game. The bar was sort of dark, considering it was late at night mode for the dome. The dome panels had turned dark, with a sprinkle of white light on them, emulating stars of the night skies seen on the surface. The bartender casually just wiped glasses and the bar table, appearing very exhausted but happy. The group managed to find a nice corner in the room, where there were several comfortable chairs with pillows and blankets around. They all grabbed the fluffy pillows and blankets, making themselves comfortable before they started speaking.

"Okay, so we all heard that correctly and we all saw that correctly, right? Like, I'm not going crazy or anything?" Nemo asked. They all nodded.

"Okay...alright...phew. Just needed to get the shock of it all out of my system, that's all." Nemo told everyone, trying to make them more relaxed. But in truth, the shock was still there. He had never seen the Great Zapfish in person before, only in old history books that he often saw too boring to read or look at. When he walked into the dome for the assembly, he thought it would be the average "we're doing okay, let's keep the work going and try to do the best we can with these living conditions!" but he was wrong.

"I was not expecting the Great Zapfish to be there...how did he do it? How did he get the Zapfish in the first place?" Cici asked, but no one had an answer.

"This must be part of the 'big plans' Augustus mentioned to us all the time. I mean, I assumed he was exaggerating, but this is HUGE! Seriously, this could get us back and running again, we could fix all of our potential problems!" Orcus said. Never would they have to worry about their domes running out of power and collapsing, killing hundreds of fellow Octarians in the process, or their heaters failing and people freezing to death. Those nightmares had plagued them for decades… but now, everything will change.

"Or, we could start a whole new, even more devastating war on the Inklings. I don't know what they have to say, but I'm sure the Inklings wouldn't like to start a new war, and frankly I don't want to either." Trenton told everyone. He had buried himself in a thick blanket, looking like a tightly wrapped burrito.

"Yeah, I don't know whether starting another Great Turf War is of our best interests as a whole…" Nemo agreed.

"But think about it, we're already on the bottom, we're already worse for wear. At this point, it's all or nothing." Cici told everyone, smacking her fist on top of her palm.

"Yeah, but what if we lose again? I'm sure the Inklings will find a way to punish us further. I can't imagine life getting any worse, because imagining something like that would be a living nightmare." Nemo rebutted.

"Do the Inklings know we stole the Great Zapfish?" Octavia asked.

"Likely. After all, I don't know how you couldn't notice something that big and important go missing. You'd have to be incredibly stupid to not notice." Orcus said.

"True, true. The Inklings will likely try to ask Octavio for the Zapfish back, or they will use force."

"Who knows how brutal they would be. Storming Octarian domes, splatting all Octarians on sight. Families, especially children...oh my cod, I can't even think about that…" Octavia said, clearly fearful. While having the Zapfish was great news, the threat of another Turf War happening was imminent.

"Are Inklings as cruel as everyone says they are? Orcus, you saw two of them, what is your opinion?"

"I don't know. I didn't meet them, I fought them, so I don't really know." Orcus answered honestly. He wanted to say the Inklings he fought were nice, since he saw one of them bringing the near-dead Octoling to safety. But considering he was surrounded by many strangers that were also in the bar with his group, he didn't want any of them thinking he was a traitor. Orcus was loyal to the Octarian Army, and would never betray them.

"I've heard Great Turf War stories of Inkling generals marching through Octarian villages and towns, gathering up the citizens, and if they didn't let the Inklings occupy the area and give them whatever they wanted, they would kill all the Octolings there in brutal fashion." Natalie muttered. She was tired, and was leaning on Nemo and using him as a pillow. Her eyes were half-closed, and she was lying down with some blankets and pillows close to her.

"I heard one Octarian town back then got burned to the ground, and all the townspeople were captured. The men were executed, the children and the sick or weak ones were forced to work as slaves, and the women became entertainment for the soldiers…" Cici told everyone.

"That's awful…" Octavia muttered.

"Yeah, it is. More of a reason not to start another War." Nemo said.

"Hey, just a question because I'm curious what you guys think: what do you think the Surface is like?" Orcus asked them. Everyone stared at him, and they all thought for a moment. There was a moment of silence between everyone as they pondered the question, until one of them spoke.

"Are you planning on fleeing to the Surface?" Cici asked.

"What, no! I'm...I'm just curious on your thoughts." Orcus told them, trying not to sound like a traitor.

"Well, I imagine whatever it is, it's better than down here. Maybe some cool cities with bright lights. I'm sure they're loving the fact that they have everything for real, like the sky, the light, the sun, the moon, the stars… everything up there is real." Nemo said.

"I would love to go to the Surface, maybe experience what it's like up there…" Natalie mumbled sleepily. Nemo bowed his head and looked at her, smiling. She smiled back lightly, making long blinks almost making her look as if she was about to fall asleep at any moment.

"I would go with you then. We could go together."

"You two are so adorable together." Orcus commented, and earned a light elbow from his friend.

"I imagine there would be friendly people up there. I wonder what they think of us Octolings though...I wonder if they would welcome us or kick us out." Octavia said.

"Ever since I saw that Octoling trying to escape two years ago, I just keep having these dreams of the Surface, and what it's like. These dreams, they're so lucid, so realistic-feeling...I feel like I'm actually living the dream, like as if the life I have now is just a nightmare. And the more I dream about the Surface, the more I want to go there…" Orcus told everyone.

"So you would really go?" Trenton asked, curious.

"Yeah, I would if I was allowed. But I'm not, and I'm loyal to the Octarian Military just like the rest of you. I'm not about to betray this army or abandon all of you for some stupid dream I have." Orcus answered. As the words escaped from his mouth, half of him felt like it was the right thing to say, btu there was another half that was telling him that he was lying, that he would go to the Surface, and if he could, he would try to bring all his friends with him.

"Well, considering the Octarians have been banished here, I guess we'll never know what the Surface is like. Maybe one day, the Inklings will welcome us back. One day…I would like that." Trenton said to everyone.

"Yeah, sounds good to me." Nemo agreed. "Though, I doubt that'd ever happen."

"Well, we should go. It's getting late…" Octavia told everyone, pointing to a clock hanging on a wall of the room, right above the open arch doorway that led to the hall. Nemo could hear some faint breathing, and looked down on his lap to see Natalie, fast asleep.

"Aw, your girlfriend fell asleep on you. How cute." Orcus commented.

"She's not my girlfriend. At least, I don't think so yet." Nemo said, and Orcus shrugged. Nemo gingerly wrapped his arms around Natalie and picked her up, taking all the blankets off her and the group exited the bar and towards their rooms. Nemo and Trenton headed down a hall, with Nemo still carrying the fast asleep Natalie in his muscular arms.

"Her room's far from here, and you look beat, Trent. You think...you think she could just sleep in our room?" Nemo asked. Trenton gave his friend a weird look.

"Seriously? You realize we could get in serious trouble for this."

"Yeah, but the superiors don't do anything about the other cadets, you know...entertaining themselves so I hardly think they would care about this. Besides, she's just sleeping over, nothing bad's going to happen as long as no high ranking officer or anything shows up."

"Fine, but if they ask, it was your idea, not mine." Trenton said, and Nemo nodded in thanks. They entered the small dorm room, where Trenton just leapt onto his bed and pulled the covers over himself. He turned and shifted to look at Nemo, who was still holding Natalie.

"Where's she going to sleep?"

"Next to me. I'm not putting her on the floor." Nemo said. He scooted over so that he was against the wall and gently laid Natalie's unconscious body onto the bed, covering himself and her with the covers.

"Again, if they ask, your idea, not mine."

"I know, I know." Nemo told him quietly as they shut the lights off and went to sleep.

* * *

 **Later on…**

Light from the electronic panels of the dome pierced Natalie's vision as her sleepy eyes slowly opened. The soft warmth of the fuzzy blanket tempted to sleep in, but she knew she'd get into great trouble if she dared to.

Wait, where's Pi?

Wait, this wasn't her dorm either. She remembered sleepily leaning on Nemo when they talked about the Great Zapfish last night…

Oh cod help her.

As she shifted herself around to turn to the other side, the annoyed grunts that got louder with each movement from her confirmed her fears; all that appeared in her mind was a frantic string of "shit shit shit shit shit" as she saw Nemo, still in deep sleep, although he was visibly disturbed from her shifting around. She then realized he had his strong arms wrapped around her, cuddling her like a soft toy like Pi. Never in Natalie's life had she felt so awkward and flustered; her face flushed a vibrant shade of crimson instantly, while her hearts were beating faster than Mach 8. But it wasn't just from being cuddled by her crush as well; if there was anything that can make situation more awkward, it'd be an officer or a snoopy, loud-mouthed cadet walking past and seeing them. It was one of those times she wished she can just Super Jump out of the academy, never to be seen again.

"Comfy there?" Natalie managed to look up to see Nemo's roommate, Trenton, in front of the bed, a shy, but welcoming smile on his face. Oddly, he didn't seem to be intending to tease her, which was out of the norm, since if there was one thing Natalie was sure of, Trenton and Nemo's other friends, including his own sister for cod's sake, _love_ to tease the two of them, to Nemo's expense. Natalie personally didn't mind it, but still, it was weird to see Trenton pass up a perfect opportunity of ribbing them.

She watched and waited, scooting herself as close to Nemo as possible. Eventually, the Octoling's eyes gradually opened, and he woke up to see Natalie cuddling with him. He noticed he had been hugging her in his sleep, which made him feel like apologizing for making her uncomfortable.

"Oh, s-sorry for hugging you...must have been uncomfortable, right?"

"Hm? No, not at all. Shocking yes, but I wasn't uncomfortable. It felt quite the opposite actually."

"Oh, well, that's good to hear." Nemo replied. The two just laid there, close to each other and huddled together under the covers. This day would take the place as Natalie's most awkward moment in her life so far. With every second of staring into Nemo's brown eyes, the blush on her cheeks grew brighter, and it eventually forced her to turn her back towards Nemo. She was not very good in maintaining eye contact, he noticed.

"Hey, if you two want to sleep a little more, it's okay. We still have an hour before morning training." Trenton informed.

"Oh, well uh…"

"Well I still am kind of tired." Natalie said. Nemo just shrugged and they both remained where they were, Natalie shutting her eyes and peacefully snoozing away. Nemo smiled, thinking she looked cute when she was asleep.

"See Trent, no problem here."

"Yeah, as long as an officer doesn't come by." Trenton said.

"Hey, I'm gonna go see Marina. She should be up, she's usually awake pretty early, so, later!" Trenton said and waved Nemo goodbye before leaving the room and shutting the door quietly behind him. Nemo leaned back down on his side of the very small bed. Natalie felt warm, like a heated pillow in a sense and he could feel himself start to slowly drift back to sleep. His eyes were blinking heavily and he felt cozy in his spot. Nemo leaned on Natalie, who was still fast asleep, and he hugged her slightly like he had done overnight before falling fast asleep.

"Did you hear training is off today?" Nemo said to Natalie, who was getting up and groggily rubbing her eyes with her knuckles, trying to make herself awake. She tilted her head in confusion, which Nemo thought was cute.

"Really? Why?"

"Apparently the King wants this time to be taken as celebration and for all his troops to relax a bit. Honestly, I'm liking the idea." Nemo said.

"Maybe…although I don't see that as much of a good reason for throwing training out the window."

"Come on Nat, think of it as...as a break from lots of the military stuff. Besides, us getting the Great Zapfish is HUGE, this solves all of our problems! Not to mention we get more time to hang out." Nemo explained to her.

"I-I guess it's okay…"

"See? It's fine. So, where do you want to go?" Nemo asked as they both left his room. Luckily, no one was around so the two hurried down the halls, trying not to attract attention if someone happened to walk by. They occasionally saw a few male Octolings walk by, but they were all in groups or pairs and the ones they saw were too distracted to notice them.

"Hm, maybe the library?"

"Sure, I enjoy reading with you. Especially since we get to cuddle."

"I think that's the only thing you like about going to a library." Natalie said, with Nemo scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Aw come on, it's not. I sometimes go there...of course."

"Right…" Natalie said, totally not believing anything he said. Nemo just rolled his eyes playfully.

"You don't sound convinced at all."

"Probably because I'm not." Natalie answered, an all knowing smile on her face. Nemo just admitted defeat, making Natalie giggle.

"Okay fine, I only go there when you come with me. But you make the place more fun, that's all."

"I guess I do."

"Hey! You two, what are you doing here?" Another Octoling shouted to them. His uniform was neat and his posture was straight and the small badges on his chest symbolized his status as an officer. He looked young, maybe only a year older than Nemo. Nemo didn't like the looks of him, and the officer looked like one who was cocky and very proud of his status. He probably openly bragged about it to other cadets that were lower than him.

"Oh, uh, you see-" Nemo tried to come up with an explanation, but the officer quickly interrupted.

"Yeah, I see you're with a girl. Girls aren't allowed here, and I'm sure you know that, don't you?"

"Yes sir, bu-"

"No buts, no excuses. You shall see the commander at this instant, cadet."

"No, wait!" Natalie barged in. "I just came here to pass him something. I'm about to leave now, and he's just going the same direction as me."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, sir." The officer stood there for a moment, then he started to laugh insultingly.

"That's your best excuse? Come on, I've heard that one hundreds of times. You don't seriously expect me to believe something like that, right?" Natalie was just silent, and the officer laughed even harder. Nemo was clenching his fists and just wanted to punch the guy right then and there.

"It's true though."

"Rules are that if you need to pass someone a message, another person, in this case another male Octoling, would give him the message instead. You're so stupid! Maybe you traded your naturally high intelligence that Octolings have for good looks?" the Officer mocked.

"Hey, shut up you little turd stain." Nemo insulted, and the Officer turned almost instantly to face Nemo, not laughing anymore.

"What did you just call me?"

"You heard me. I don't think you're deaf, are you?" Nemo then felt pain in his jaw as the Officer punched him across the face. Nemo stumbled backwards and landed on the floor, while Natalie quickly bent down to try to help him up.

"Nemo, are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine." Nemo said, massaging his jaw. The Officer just cackled like this was a humorous joke.

"Know your place, or you could get into some serious trouble, kid. And you..." The Officer pointed at Natalie, who was still holding Nemo.

"Learn some better excuses next time, little girl."

"Little girl!?"

"Heh, yep, that's what you are. A little naive girl with some stupid punk-ass idiot. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if your stupidity brought you back here where all the guys are probably loving the perfect opportunity to make their day the best day of the week, if you know what I'm saying." Nemo tried to get up but the Officer kicked him down, and Natalie was fed up. She was angry, and wanted this person removed. She glared daggers at him, and he just smirked confidently. That's when a certain someone walked past…

"Hey, tiny Officer, remember me?" Oscar towered over all three of them as he spoke with his booming voice, a sadistic grin present on his rough face. "Yeah, we ain't done with our playdate from earlier." The officer yelped and quickly took shelter behind Natalie and Nemo, who had stood back up by now.

"Pl-please help me...I'll do whatever you want if you do…he doesn't hurt girls...I'm sure of it." The Officer whispered in Natalie's ear, his voice trembling.

" _Not true. Oscar hurts girls."_ Both Natalie and Nemo thought, knowing how Oscar was. He stomped over to them, and Natalie stood bravely in front of the towering Octoling. He was about three times her height, with fists about twice the size of her head.

"What is it now?" Natalie asked.

"This little shit wanted to insult me. I want to tear his little brain out and shove it into his mouth to shut him up."

"Well, he said sorry. Now move it."

"You're telling me to move?" Oscar asked, leaning over and getting dangerously close to her face. Then, he grabbed her and picked her up with one hand, his fist closed around her small waist. Natalie was scared now. He could probably easily kill her right now.

"Y-yes, I'm telling you to move."

"Oscar, put her down!" Nemo ordered, but the bigger Octoling drowned out his voice.

"Hehe, looks like nobody warned you of what happens when you insult me like that." Oscar whispered, and Natalie was absolutely terrified as he brought her head towards his mouth.

"Well, I guess I'll give his treatment to you first. I need some way of getting to the brain, right?" Oscar said and drew Natalie closer and closer to his open mouth, his sharp beak grazing her tentacles.

" _Oh my cod, oh my cod, oh my cod…"_ Natalie thought frightfully, shaking heavily. It looked like he was going to chomp down on her head, and she closed her eyes and waited for him to do so, Then, he just brought her away and tossed her to the ground. Nemo's brown eyes widened and he quickly dashed forward and caught her before her back could collide with the cold floor.

"H-hey, it's okay, I've got you." Nemo whispered, hugging her close to him. He looked up at Oscar, who stared them down.

"Let that be your warning then. Have a good day." Oscar said before stomping off down the hall. Natalie was trembling so much that Nemo could feel himself shake along, and the Officer, who was hiding behind him, had walked in front of the two.

"Th-thank you for saving me. I...I won't tell anyone you were here."

"Thank you, Officer. And...I'm sorry for what we said earlier." Nemo said, and the Officer just ran off to the other direction of the hall away from Oscar's direction. Nemo stood up and carried Natalie down to the library, where he sat on a soft chair and tried to comfort Natalie.

"Hey, you're okay...everything's going to be fine, I'm here now. I won't let him ever grab you again."

"Y-you promise?" Nemo thought about that. He didn't want her to get hurt, especially not by someone like Oscar, who was stronger than ever thanks to the experiment. He knew Natalie couldn't break out because despite Augustus hand picking everyone, he heard from Orcus that the only reason he picked Natalie was because she had better academic scores and had medical training. In fact, she wasn't even as skilled in combat as the other three…however, Natalie didn't know that. Orcus only knew because Augustus was bragging to both him and Owen years ago.

"I promise. I won't let you get hurt by him again, even if it means I die in the process, okay?"

"N-no…"

"Fine, I'll try not to die. Promise." Nemo said, and Natalie smiled. She was still shaking a bit and just wanted to stay in his arms. Nemo didn't care, and comforted her for a bit until she settled down.

* * *

 **Later…**

"Sir, I see her as a liability." Oscar said to Augustus. He walked alongside Owen, both of which were talking to the scientist about Natalie and Orcus, the two recruits who don't seem to always agree on Augustus' and the other's ways of thinking.

"Oscar, you weren't actually going to kill her then and there, right? I mean, I don't hate her or like her but I do think killing a teammate like that is bad for the team." Owen said. Oscar just rolled his eyes while Augustus snorted.

"What?"

"Pfft, Natalie's easily replaceable."

"Really?"

"Yep. Actually, she's not as special as the rest of you. I just picked her because she had medical training and had better academic scores than most of you. Okay, here's the funny part: I had Marina get a bunch of names, and then I basically just picked her by random! Funny, right? Besides, even if she was to perish, I wouldn't care. She will easily be replaced by someone else who's similar." Augustus explained.

"Wait, so she's just here because she's smarter and knows how to play doctor? No offense, but shouldn't you replace her right now with someone like...Marina?" Owen asked, and Augustus turned around to face him. He had a serious look on his face, and Owen already knew what he was going to say.

"No. Marina is not to go onto the battlefield like you are. She's too valuable. She stays with me."

 _Knew it._ Owen thought, smiling and internally laughing at how predictable his superior was.

"What if I just kill Natalie because I felt like it?" Oscar asked.

"I wouldn't mind. I'll get a minor scolding from Uncle Octavio, and then I'll just replace her."

"That's right; your Uncle always goes easy on you." Owen mocked. "Though, I understand. Old man's lost almost all of his family."

"Hey, what's happening?" All three turned to the entrance of the lab to find Orcus, peeking in curiously.

"What are you doing here?" Owen frowned at the sight of goody two-shoes.

"I heard from someone you guys were called to Augustus, so I thought it was something serious."

"Nah, just talking about you and that stupid girl called Natalie…" Oscar mumbled.

"Oh. Anyway," Orcus would rather not talk about whatever problems the short-fused brute had with Natalie. "I'm worried the Inklings are starting to retaliate for the Great Zapfish. I've received reports of sightings of two Inklings scouting the kettles of Octo Valley."

"Oh, of course. Those pesky Inklings…" Owen cracked his knuckles; he could've turned those two girls into goo on the ground had Octavio not disallowed Augustus' plans.

"I think the Squidbeak Splatoon might be making a move now." Augustus suddenly piped up, and his three soldiers turned to face him.

"The what?" Oscar asked.

"The Squidbeak Splatoon, a legendary squad dating back to the Great Turf War. Uncle says their leader, Captain Cuttlefish, has been keeping an eye on us, and he has two so-called 'agents' to help him out."

"So those two Inklings that we met before were his 'agents'?" Orcus asked.

"I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. In any case, we can't let them take back the Great Zapfish." Augustus told them. This sounded serious, especially when it involved the Inklings. If the Inklings were going to invade Octo Valley, then that meant the Octarians would have to militarize and start protecting the Zapfish they got.

"And how exactly are we gonna do that?" Owen cut in. "I mean, we don't know what they're planning."

"I think we can send a few soldiers to find their base and see what they're planning." Orcus suggested.

"Oh, a recon mission?"

"Yeah." Orcus turned to Augustus again. "What do you say, sir?"

"I agree."

"Who do we send?" Oscar asked. Then Owen had a bright idea.

"I say we send the girl. You said she's no special person, right? Well, then we send her. If she doesn't come back alive, then we just replace her." Owen suggested. Oscar eagerly agreed with the plan. Orcus did not like the idea whatsoever.

"I like that idea, Owen. Good thinking, maybe I didn't need a 'smarter' person in this group after all…" Augustus said, and they walked into the lab. Orcus wanted to protest, knowing that this decision was going to be made without her consent.

"But sir, Natalie isn't here to-"

"I don't care if she's here or not. I said that's the plan, Orcus. Besides, you know she's easily replaceable, what's your deal?" Augustus asked, crossing his arms. Oscar picked up a wrench and started to fidget around with it out of boredom, while Owen watched him to make sure he wasn't being more stupid than normal.

"I...nothing, sir. I have no deal."

"Good. Then it's settled, Natalie will be the spy whether she likes it or not." Augustus said, and he seemed pretty happy. Orcus, ashamed that he couldn't do anything to stop the decision being made, just walked away in defeat.

* * *

 **And now it starts, the beginning of Splatoon 1 and the start of some more action and more fights, including more character interactions as well. Hopefully you enjoyed this extra long chapter, because it certainly took a while for the two of us to write it. Be sure to leave a review or a comment and be sure to look out for the next chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Deviation Part 1**

 **Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. Wes and I were both working on different separate stories while writing this, so there was abit of a week-long delay, but we should be good for now. Hopefully you enjoy.**

* * *

"So that's what our ancestors looked like?" Nemo pointed at the picture of an octopus in the sea. "Man, evolution has brought us a long way, from these slithering sea creatures to intelligent land-dwellers."

"I can agree." Natalie flipped to the next page of the book and saw pictures of other sea creatures, like sharks, manta rays, stingrays, and thousands of kinds of fishes. "What kind of creatures do you think is more fascinating, Nemo? Land, or sea?"

"Don't know. I can't really say which is better than the other."

"I can't, either. Though, I'd love to see a seal up close."

"You mean, you'd like to ahem, _sea_ one up close?" When Natalie gave him a quizzical look, Nemo just chuckled, "Get it? Sea? Because they are in the sea?"

"Oh, OH!" Natalie tugged his ear playfully. "Stop with your stupid puns!"

"Heheh, come on. You're smiling."

"I'm not!"

"Hey guys." Both looked up to see Orcus a few inches before them. "Hate to interrupt your lovey-dovey session, but I have something important to tell Natalie."

"Oh?" The girl raised a brow. "What's wrong?"

"Well, I, Owen and Oscar were discussing about the Inklings just now." Orcus grabbed a vacant chair nearby to sit down with his friends. "I suggested a recon mission to spy on the Inklings and see what they're up to, and Augustus assigned you as the spy."

"What? But I haven't…"

"I know. I tried to stop them and let you agree first, but I couldn't change their mind." Orcus bowed his head in shame. "I'm sorry, Nat. I couldn't do anything."

"No, no, it's okay. I know those three, especially Augustus, are stubborn. Once they set their mind on something, nothing can change their mind." Natalie closed her book and sighed. "Oh well. So, when will my mission begin?"

"Not sure. Maybe you can go to Augustus and ask him about it, or play passive and wait for him to send you."

"Natalie," Nemo put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure about doing this?"

"Well, even if I'm not, it's a command, and I have to follow it. Don't worry, Nemo, I will stay safe." Natalie assured him, in hopes of putting him at ease. And it did, as evidenced by his smile. "Good luck, Nat. I believe in you."

* * *

"Natalie Tilus, I'm glad you 'willingly' took on this mission." Augustus said, before leaning towards Oscar, "It was mandatory." To which the bigger Octoling just shrugged. Natalie had just emerged from a kettle, met by Orcus, Augustus, Owen and Oscar. She shook off the excess ink on her as she walked towards the group. Augustus handed her several things to carry on the mission, and Natalie accepted them all. He handed her a radio transmitter, an Octoshot, and a small knife. Natalie didn't think she really needed a knife, but she had never Inklings before, let alone fight one, but she took it just in case the mission went south. The next two things Augustus handed her did not look familiar at all. He could easily tell by her confused expression that she was clueless, and being Augustus, he was happy to explain the devices.

"Okay, this tiny thing right here is what I call a 'disguise kit." Augustus told Natalie, presenting the small handheld device to her like a door to door salesman. He handed it to her, and Natalie inspected the small device. It was very light, and the device consisted of a few colored buttons and a small screen. Suddenly, Augustus started explaining the disguise kit again scaring her from behind because she hadn't noticed he moved.

"So, you turn it on by flipping this switch here, and the screen shows a bunch of colored squares. All you do is press a button…" Augustus pushed a green button that matched with a green square. Suddenly, Natalie watched as her red tentacles slowly turned a nice shade of green. Her ears changed, becoming more pointy. Natalie's tentacles also changed, her suction cups disappearing and her tentacles started to change their shape to form two long ones with some slightly fat ends. She noticed the tentacles had some darker green spots dotted all over, and that the shade of her tentacles got darker the closer it was to the tips. Everyone stared at her while Augustus closely inspected her body. He walked around her slowly, squinting and occasionally lifting up her tentacles and arms. He then got in her face and looked right into her red eyes before stepping back, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Fantastic, it works! Now, you're an Inkling! No one knows, and no one can tell except us."

"W-wait...Inklings look like this?"

"Yes, yes they do. Moving on…" Owen threw another object at Augustus, who caught it with both hands. The object looked like a small, light backpack with a fairly small ink tank located at the bottom. The ink tank was facing horizontally. The backpack looked like it was made of some light but solid material, and on the back it had four small holes that were sealed by small panels.

" _How am I supposed to use my weapon with such a small ink tank?"_ Natalie thought, but any further thoughts were interrupted by Augustus.

"This is a backpack. But wait, there's more!" Augustus pulled out a very small skinny pair of headphones, pulling it so that it became wide. He then reached to the Natalie's head and let go, letting the headphones slap onto her new ears. The headphones only had one side that covered her ears, the other side was just the metal frame. Augustus still held the backpack in his hands.

"Ow!" Natalie exclaimed, but Augustus ignored her.

"Now, press the right side of the headphones, the only part that's covering your ear."

"Okay but wh-" Natalie was interrupted when the part of the backpack that would be touching her back suddenly had four spikes emerging from it faster than the blink of an eye. Natalie leapt back in surprise, and nearly tripped over her own feet. Owen and Oscar snickered, while Orcus remained silent as ever.

"This, is what you do should you get caught. If they find you, simply press the right side and BAM, these spikes puncture all three of your hearts and your ink sac."

"D-do I come back?"

"Come back?" Augustus asked, before erupting into a fit of laughter. "Hahaha, 'come back', ahahaha, that's a good one! But if you were serious, then no, you die permanently!" Augustus said, wiping tears of laughter away.

"Are we done with the science talk? Because we should start the mission now." Owen pointed out, arms crossed and looking bored.

"Ah yes, you should be going now." Augustus pressed a section of the backpack, and the spikes retracted and went back into their hiding place. Natalie could see the small panels close, preventing the spikes from tearing into her back when they didn't need to. She reluctantly took the backpack from Augustus' hands and and put it on.

"Well, your mission starts now. Here's a map for you to use. Now, a few scouts reported that the Inklings wandered this way after roaming around" Augustus told her, pointing to a certain section of the small map "So if my hypothesis is correct, the Inkling base should be there. I want you to just look around, and tell me what you see. So, off you go then!" Augustus gave Natalie a hard shove forward, and the other Octolings by now had left through the kettle. Orcus was the last to leave, a remorseful and worried look on his face. He jumped into the kettle, and Augustus waved Natalie goodbye as she ran off to complete her mission.

* * *

"Apparently, the Octarians used chemical pheromones to attract the Great Zapfish into their territory while it was out in Piranha Pit." Natalie could hear one of the Inklings chatter within their shack. Time to time, she peeked through the tiny window of the shack to get a glimpse of the two girls and their captain, who was a frail squid with limbs as thin as a matchstick and a shrub of a beard. However, Augustus warned her to not underestimate him, for he was a legend in the Great Turf War, a walking relic of history. Natalie thumbed her tiny ink tank, hoping to not to accidentally activate the spikes. She understood why it had a mechanism to kill her; as cruel a thought it was, she was miniscule in the big picture, and was just another pawn that can easily be replaced. The primitive fear of death still lingered with her, but Natalie's job was to follow orders, not question them.

However, Augustus clearly underestimated her. So what if she gets caught? It's not like she'd be completely helpless. She could still try to escape. Sure, she did not have the best combat skills, but she still had the military training. She wasn't completely helpless.

Back to her mission. "I think we need some more help this time, Agent 2." The old Inkling spoke. "Two of you won't be enough."

"So are you saying we recruit another agent?" The female voice this time was from the pink Inkling, or Agent 1. By now, Natalie had learned the two girls' codenames, but their real names were still a mystery. And apparently, they are pop stars in the city of Inklings; part-time celebrity and part-time hero, Natalie could not imagine how they managed to keep up a life like that. Life of a celebrity is busy enough, and they still have time to be secret agents? Jeez.

"Yes, we should." The white Inkling, Agent 2, responded. "We need an Agent 3. But who do we choose? Other than Sheldon, no one else knows about the Splatoon."

"Well, I can stand at the Plaza and choose one of the kids there as our new operative." Cuttlefish suggested, and Natalie heard his two agents gasp.

"Gramps, are you crazy?!" Agent 1 piped up. "A _kid_?! You know how dangerous these missions are, right?"

"Girls, please listen to-"

"Gramps, I know we're desperate, but come on!" Agent 2 interrupted him. "We can't send a random kid into an alien territory! This is some life-or-death matter!" It seemed both agents were very objected to their captain's idea. Well, Natalie understood why; it'd seem pretty heartless to just throw a child or teenager into the home of ancient enemies. Still, this was something that definitely needs to be reported to the King. She jotted down some notes on her tiny notepad before she returned to listening to the Inklings.

"Girls, please calm down and listen to me!" The shack fell silent as both agents obeyed, before Cuttlefish took a deep breath and began to speak. "Okay, I know, sending a random kid to help us is a big risk to their life, but think about this; if they can handle themselves in Turf Wars 24/7, why can't they handle themselves on the field? Also, it's not like we'd just give them some equipment and shove them into the domes without any exposition; of course they will go through some training before heading into the field! I'm not stupid, young'uns. Of course I know what steps we should take to ensure our new partner's wellbeing. You two were both really young when you started."

Cuttlefish is indeed still the tactical genius he was fabled as during the Great Turf War. Natalie listened closely and waited for the girl's responses, which came not long later.

"You are right, Gramps." Agent 1 said. "I guess we can go with this plan."

"But maybe we should observe first, not just pick some random kid. Find someone who has some decent skill." Agent 2 said. Natalie peeked into the window to get another look at them when she started receiving a message. It startled her, and she fumbled with the radio for a bit before putting it to her ear.

"Natalie, this is Augustus. Did you find their hideout?"

"Yes, I've located their hideout. It's some sort of small shack in the middle of nowhere." Natalie whispered, trying not to grab the attention of the Inklings inside.

"Good. Now, did you find anything about their plans and such?" Augustus asked, intrigued.

"Yes. They're trying to get the Zapfish back and are discussing ideas of how to get a new recruit."

"Hmm, that's interesting. I want you to snoop around a bit more, find some more things. I'll call back in a few minutes."

"Understood."

"And remember, if you get caught, there's always the backpack…" Augustus mentioned, and she could hear him snicker but didn't say anything of it. She simply just hung up and walked around the shack, admiring the random things around.

" _Where do they even get all this stuff in the first place? The whole thing looks like a hobo's home."_ Natalie thought. Suddenly, she heard someone clear their throat, making her jump and turn around. There, she saw all three Inklings standing behind her.

"Excuse me, what do you think you're doing here?" Agent 2 interrogated with a stern voice. Natalie was starting to panic. She had listened to stories of Inklings during the Turf War, and those stories weren't any good ones either. She's read about accounts of torture and imprisonment, stories of horrific war crimes committed by the squids. Natalie wanted to fire her weapon, after all she assumed it was given to her for self-defense, but she knew she probably would only be able to land a few shots before she was splatted.

"I uh…"

"Agent 2, you're scaring the poor girl!" Agent 1 said. She walked over, a cheery smile on her face as she introduced herself.

"Hey there, my name's Agent 1. Nice to meet you." Agent 1 stuck out her hand, and Natalie shook it. She was about to ask why they weren't being so threatening when she suddenly remembered that she looked like an Inkling.

"So, what's your name?"

"N-N-Natalie."

"Cool. Um, how did you find this place?" Agent 2 started speaking. The two had definitely started trusting her, but Natalie still kept her guard high as she quickly made up a lie she had already prepared, "I-I was walking around the city when my notebook fell d-down a manhole and I tried to get it back and I suddenly ended up here."

"Ah, great." Cuttlefish mumbled from behind. "This bucko's found the secret passage to Octo Valley."

"Octo Valley?" Natalie began to feign ignorance. "This place is called Octo Valley?"

"Yes, it is, and you shouldn't be here." Agent 2 quickly switched the topic. "You should head home to Inkopolis now. Go through the manhole you came from and don't tell _anyone_ about this." It was obvious these Inklings were trying to keep their little operation a secret from their people too. Natalie found it surprising; she thought the New Squidbeak Splatoon was an official squadron sent by the city to take back the Great Zapfish. Apparently, it wasn't.

"W-what happens if I tell someone about what I saw?" Natalie asked, curious about what vile punishments these Inklings would do to her to prevent their secret from escaping.

"Well, I'm guessing not much people would believe you, but if you DID happened to tell someone, we would make sure you couldn't get access to this place again. This is for your own safety, Octo Valley really isn't a nice place." Agent 2 told her. Natalie silently agreed with her. Octo Valley really wasn't a nice place, and bad things constantly occurred all the time. Their leader does his best to stop it, but the people couldn't really do much without Octavio's say.

"Can I stay here? Just for a bit?" Natalie asked. If she could stay while they discussed their plans, it would be much easier for her to find information Augustus would be delighted to hear.

"Sorry, you can't. Again, our operation is secret. No one can know, even you." Agent 2 answered.

" _Ah, too hopeful I guess. Not that I'm leaving until Augustus says so."_ Natalie thought. Before she could try to come up with something to convince them to let her stay, her thoughts were interrupted by the three Inklings huddled together, whispering to one another. She could hear their conversation, albeit faintly.

" _Marie, this is our chance to get the new agent Gramps wants!"_ Agent 1 told her, looking like a light bulb just switched on in her head.

" _Your cousin has a point there, bucko. This girl is already here, she could be of some use."_ Cuttlefish agreed, a smile on his face that was covered by his bushy tentacle moustache.

" _I don't know...I mean, I didn't see anyone come out of the manhole. What if she's lying about who she is?"_

" _Marie, we were inside the whole time! I couldn't see out there and I don't think you could either. Besides, this is PERFECT! Please?"_ Agent 1 begged, giving her cousin some sad puppy eyes. Agent 2 rolled her eyes, and reluctantly agreed. The squids broke from their huddle and walked back towards Natalie, who was even more nervous than before.

" _This wasn't supposed to happen, I was just supposed to stay and listen, not become an agent for their organization! I have to get out of here, I'm sure Augustus wouldn't mind…"_ Natalie thought to herself in panic. Despite this, she tried to keep her cool and look relaxed on the outside. The Inklings seemed to be buying her acting, because they didn't seem to notice.

"Hey, we've been recently looking for a new agent to help us out, because Agent 1 and I aren't always available. So, we were wondering if you'd like to join our cause. I mean, you already know of our existence now, so I guess this is a good opportunity for us to stay and know each other better." Agent 2 explained.

"Heheh, well, I don't know…"

"Please? It would REALLY help us!" Agent 1 begged. The girl looked like she was going to be genuinely upset if Natalie refused.

"I-I don't think I can, sorry…"

"Why not? Is there something wrong? You look nervous as shell." Agent 1 asked, looking concerned. Natalie took several steps back and tripped on a small rock, falling backwards to the ground. She landed with a thud, and dropped the small disguise kit device onto the ground beside her. The device bounced on the ground several times before stopping, and one of the bounces accidentally hit a button, and Natalie watched in horror as the green ink started to flow away from her body. She felt her long tentacles shorten to her regular Octoling ones, and could feel the shape of her ears change. The Inkling agents in front of her changed their expressions rapidly as her disguise reversed, expressions starting with shock and confusion to horror and fear. But none could have experienced as much fear as Natalie, who was stuck on the ground, unmoving and paralyzed.

"Oh cod...oh cod…" Natalie muttered repeatedly like a broken record player, repeating the same phrase in her breath.

"Y-you're an Octoling?" Agent 1 asked in shock and surprise. Suddenly, Natalie was staring down the barrel of a Charger, held by Agent 2.

"No wonder you were hesitant. Now, don't move or I'll splat you." Agent 2 demanded.

"Egad! She was an Octoling the whole time!" Cuttlefish exclaimed.

Natalie was shaking in fear as she tried to think of a plan. The Charger was already fully charged, and all Agent 2 needed to do was to press the trigger to release a shot that would splat her. Agent 1 had her Roller with her as well, although she wasn't aiming it at Natalie. With three Inklings standing at the only direction she could escape through, the odds did not seem to be on her side. Natalie peered over her own shoulder to see the manhole, the same manhole that would lead to Inkopolis...however, that was suicide. Suddenly, Natalie remembered what Augustus said earlier:

" _This, is what you do should you get caught. If they find you, simply press the right side and BAM, these spikes puncture all three of your hearts and your ink sac."_

" _Do I really want to use that method? I...I can't choose…"_ Natalie thought, and she looked at the manhole cover, then her backpack. There was only one option she liked slightly more than the other, and it was clear what she wanted.

"Alright, now let's make this easy for all of us. Don't resist, and nothing bad needs to hap-" Agent 2 tried to tell her, but Natalie just leapt backwards before morphing into her octopus form and sliding into the grate. The two agents were shocked, thinking the Octoling wouldn't dare try to go into the city.

"Sh-she's in the Plaza…"

"What do we do Marie?" Agent 1 asked her. Agent 2 didn't really know as they never had this problem.

"I think we should do our best to look for her. But this will be more difficult for us, considering we have busy lives as celebrities…" Agent 2 said, taking off her face mask. Agent 1 was staring at a watch she had, and her eyes widened in shock.

"Speaking of which, we should go. The producer said he needs us in a couple of minutes, and that we can't be late!"

"Damn it! Alright Gramps, we'll be back. Can you keep an eye on the manhole in case that Octoling comes back?"

"Sure can do, Marie. Have fun."

"You too Gramps." Agent 2 said to her grandpa before jumping into the manhole with Agent 1. Cap'n Cuttlefish watched them leave before sitting down on a chair, carefully eyeing the manhole cover in case the renegade Octoling ever returned.

* * *

 **Short chapter, I know, hopefully the next will be longer and released sooner rather than later. But in the meantime, hopefully you like what this chapter had, and be sure to leave a review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Deviation Part 2**

 **Guess what? Another late update...sorry. I had a history project (whole thing was pretty stupid) and then I was trying to finish up ANOTHER story on top of that so yeah, there's the late update. But regardless, we have the new chapter finally out so that's good right? Enjoy the second part!**

* * *

 **2 Hours After Mission…**

"What do you mean 'she never came back?'" Nemo demanded. He felt all sorts of emotions boiling inside him, ranging from sadness, to anger, to fear. He didn't know what to feel, but all he knew was one thing: he wanted Augustus' head.

"She never returned to the rendezvous point after an hour. I wanted to wait, but Augustus said-" Orcus tried to explain, but this only pissed Nemo further. He grabbed Orcus by the collar of his uniform and slammed him against a wall.

"I don't CARE what Augustus said! Where. Is. She?"

"I...I don't know…" Orcus managed to choke out in between some gags. Cici and Octavia were grabbing Nemo's shoulders, trying to force him to release their friend.

"Why didn't you stay!? Why didn't you just stay and make sure she was alright!?"

"I couldn't! I was ordered to stay with Augustus, and only she was allowed to go to lower the chances of the operation from going downhill! Besides, we got valuable information from her mission that the King can use! She's a hero!"

"A hero, or a pawn? Imagine how she felt there! What if she's dead? No one would care, certainly not anyone except for us!"

"Nemo, the situation was out of my hands. There's nothing I could do...I'm sorry...I really am…" Orcus explained, his tone solemn and full of regret. Nemo just flipped a table, random sheets of papers and small items like pencils were thrown off the surface and scattered on the floor, creating a huge mess. The loud ruckus would have attracted the attention of any Octarians in the room, except the recreation room was empty.

"Nemo, let's go." Octavia suggested in a soft voice, her arm wrapped around his. Nemo left with her, leaving only Cici and Orcus.

"...What should I do?" Orcus asked after several long seconds of standing there in silence. Cici just stared at the messy floor, and the flipped table that was a few inches away from her.

"I don't know. Maybe give Nemo some space. But he's right, you should have done a little bit more." Cici answered, before leaving the room and Orcus by himself. Orcus, sighing and heavily disappointed in himself, punched the wall near him. It left a deep crater, and some small ink stains were in it from Orcus' hand, which had gotten cut and damaged from the impact. Orcus shouted into the air in utter frustration and feeling of uselessness before slumping over in a nearby chair, resting his head in his hands.

* * *

 **Elsewhere…**

" _Oh my cod, oh my cod, oh my cod…"_ Natalie thought to herself. She was in utter shock and disbelief of what she had just done. From what she remembered, she just panicked, and not wanting to be captured by those Inklings for interrogation or questioning, Natalie jumped through the manhole. And now, she found herself in the one place no Octoling would normally find themselves: the land of the Inklings, the Surface. Around her was a large open area enclosed by several buildings. Surrounding this enclosed paradise that was teeming with what Natalie soon realized were Inklings, were tall, slender towers that were covered in glass, concrete, and metal, and these buildings seemed to touch the sky and the clouds above. The day was clear, and everything felt so real to her. No more panels that emulated the day and night cycle, no more enclosed, claustrophobic domes; everything felt open, peaceful, and fresh. Natalie was overcome with the experience, the look, the feel of the area around her. But her thoughts were soon interrupted as she just realized she was an Octoling. She dashed behind a wall just as three Inklings walked by.

" _Carp, I nearly forgot I'm an Octoling! These Inklings still probably hold some several grudges with us Octarians. Best to stay hidden."_ Natalie told herself, and she pulled out the disguise kit device that Augustus handed her for the mission. Hoping it would still operate, pressed a button and her body slowly took the form and appearance of an orange Inkling disguise.

" _Good, now I can hide in plain sight, and no one will know the difference! Just gotta be careful this time, I don't know what their reactions would be to an Octoling like me."_ Natalie thought, and she peered over the wall, scanning her surroundings. The Inklings around her, who seemed very young and maybe just a bit younger than her, didn't seem to notice her presence, she slipped out into the open. Natalie walked to the center of the area, and just took in the experience once more. She felt relaxed, somewhat. It was a feeling she didn't seem to have recently, and this was a nice change of pace for her.

"Wow...this place...it's beautiful." Natalie muttered to herself. She took in a big breath of air, before exhaling out slowly. The air felt fresh and comforting, and definitely felt different from the heavy air down in the underground. The sunlight that she basked in as she walked around the place felt warm on her skin, and felt much more different to the fake warmth given off by the panels in the many domes of Octo Valley. Everything felt real, and it was awesome.

"Ack!" Natalie exclaimed as she fell to the ground, feeling something slam against her body. She turned around to see an Inkling girl had walked into her, and she also fell to the ground as well. The Inkling held her head with her hand and shook it side to side, probably feeling a bit dazed from the collision. When she finally came to her senses, she noticed Natalie and her face changed immediately.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!" She stood up in less than a second and ran over to Natalie, trying to help her up. Natalie grabbed her hand and got up, and she dusted herself off. The Inkling girl looked heavily embarrassed, and was throwing apologies left and right.

"I'm just so sorry, I'm so stupid, I shouldn't be looking at my Squid Phone while I'm-"

"It's fine, really, it is. We all make mistakes, happens all the time." Natalie told the Inkling girl, who just nodded. She was thankful she had studied decent Inkling before in the library, or she definitely wouldn't stand a chance at communicating with any of the Inklings.

" _I just need to remember not to get so riled up over them, or else there could be dangerous consequences…like what I see every day."_ Natalie thought, but she concealed her afterthoughts well behind a light smile.

"Hey...you look like me."

"Hm?" Natalie was confused, until she remembered she was in her disguise right now. To the girl, she looked just like every other Inkling girl.

"You look just like me. Body shape, tentacle style, tentacle color...you look like my clone! It's really cool." The girl commented. Natalie just looked at herself and back at the girl. Both of them had two long tentacles dangling from the side of their head, and they were both orange in color. They also appeared to be alike in most other things too, like body shape and height.

"Interesting...well, nice to meet you, clone." Natalie thought a little joke wouldn't hurt. As she scanned the Inkling, she noticed something large slung against her back. It seemed to be a Roller, but it didn't seem like the ones manufactured in the underground. Then again, Inkling technology and weaponry is probably way different from theirs.

"Hehe, nice to meet you too." The Inkling returned. "What's your name?"

"I-I'm Natalie."

"Oh, I'm Allison! Nice to meet you!" She introduced herself. "Casual Level 20 B- Roller."

"Wait, what?" Natalie was confused by words like "Level 20" and "B-". "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, maybe you're a rookie who's just getting started in Turf Wars. Basically, you have a level when you start, and as you progress through Turf Wars, you can increase your level." Natalie thought this sounded like some sort of game. Then again, this "Turf War" thing is probably a game for Inklings. She would have to ask about it. "Once you reach a certain level, you can get into more intense Ranked Battles."

"Um...what are Turf Wars?"

Natalie soon heard what was probably the loudest "WHAT?!" from the Inkling. "You don't know?! Everyone in Inkopolis knows what Turf War is! How could you not know?" Well, not that Natalie was even an Inkling at the first place, but that's not what the Inkling should know. She quickly made up a story, "Well, I'm from a rather obscure village, and this is my first day in this big city." That wasn't completely a lie; it was indeed her, or maybe any Octarian's, first step into the city of Inklings. "I haven't heard much about this city; I just know it's very lively."

"Oh, you bet it is! Day or night, the city always has something you can see and talk about. Turf Wars, Splatfests, video games...there's never nothing to do in Inkopolis. And at night, there's these beautiful lights that just make the city so bright, and everyone is so welcoming and kind. It's the place to be, no matter what you're doing!"

The more this girl gushed about her home, the more intrigued Natalie became. She badly wanted to leave her mission behind and just live in this wonderful place known as Inkopolis, but she couldn't just drop everything and leave without saying goodbye. Her friends - Nemo, especially - would feel so betrayed. As much as she wanted this dream to come true, it would only remain what it was; a hopeless, futile dream that would never come true.

"Wow, my friends weren't wrong." Natalie continued to lie. "It really is a cool place, huh?"

"Of course it is. Say, that's a very small ink tank you have there." The Ink- no, Allison pointed at the pack Natalie was carrying. "I assume you carried it to do some Turf War, but are you sure there would be enough ink to last you for even 10 seconds before you run out of ink?"

"Well, I don't know, really. It's given to me by my friends who have come here before. I assumed they couldn't afford a better one than this. M-Most of the people in my hometown were poor, including me. My friends came here by saving up for years." Natalie was surprised how smoothly she was making up this story. Maybe it was because most of the Octarians indeed had almost no possession. She had seen kids who had wandered around the streets and begged from house to house to get even a morsel of bread. Plus, she couldn't tell the Inkling the real reason the ink tank was so small.

"Oh...well in that case, let me show you around Inkopolis Plaza for a bit! Your life might not have been so great before, but right now, that all changes! Because Inkopolis is a happy place, a place filled with opportunity!"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to-" Natalie was interrupted as she suddenly felt the Inkling grab her hand before being dragged along with her, excited to show Natalie around.

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

"Uncle Octavio, what a pleasant surprise as always. Or is it a surprise? After all, I set this meeting up…" Augustus said in a cocky tone, waving off several Elite Octolings serving as guards.

"Get on with it boy. What did you want to tell me?" Octavio ordered, impatient and not in the mood for his nephew's arrogance.

"Ah, as you wish, my liege. Our espionage mission was a success. Our agent wasn't able to make it back in one piece, or in any pieces for that matter, but we were able to gain some information about the Inklings."

" _Of course the agent didn't return in one piece…"_ Octavio thought and just sighed, continuing to listen.

"Your long time adversary, Captain Cuttlefish, plans to take back the Zapfish we stole. However, they're a bit in a predicament. His only two available agents won't be readily available, which leaves him weak."

"Captain Cuttlefish would not give up so easily, especially not for something as important as the Great Zapfish. There must be a catch."

"And there is indeed! You see, Captain Cuttlefish is looking for a new recruit as a suitable...replacement, if you can put it that way. In my eyes, that 'suitable' replacement would hardly be able to tear through our forces, I highly doubt we need to panic."

"You think Cuttlefish is so foolish to recruit an inexperienced warrior? I may hate the Inkling, but he is not a foolish man. He will find a suitable soldier, and when he does we will be done for. I'll order the Great Octoweapons to be rebuilt and reactivated immediately."

"You mean the ones from the War? Uncle, you're panicking! You're pathetic! You're showing weakness in our ranks! Cuttlefish is old and weak, the frail little man could hardly fend for himself. He's trying to do everything to demean us, sowing fear into our ranks so he can nab the Zapfish easily! The Great Octoweapons are weak and old, outdated and absolutely horrendous weapons to operate. Allow me to continue my experiments, allow me to create better, more improved weapons!" Augustus demanded. Octavio was quite saddened that Augustus saw him as weak, despite the fact that this isn't the first time it's happened recently, and so Octavio felt this response should have been expected. Yet, the words still seemed to tear open his hearts and violently insert pain into them. He wondered what went wrong, how a nice boy like Augustus turned out this way. Yet, despite wanting to make Augustus proud, to make them both happy again, Octavio knew allowing Augustus to continue his rejected experiments and plans, especially the ones that horrified the old octopus, would be a bad idea for both him and the entirety of Octo Valley.

"I'm sorry Augustus, but I decline. The Great Octoweapons will be used instead, as they're more readily available. Your experiments, they're horrifying. I know what's going to hap-"

"You know exactly what's going to happen: my plans and experiments will create new weapons, allowing us to destroy the pathetic Inklings once and for all. And when the populace find out you wanted to reject me and my genius intellect, you'll be overthrown while I take the role of leadership."

"Augustus, defeating the Inklings in war is not my priority, repairing our civilization is. Besides, our people are not in the condition for another war!"

"Then what about the military schools!? What of them!? Are they there for presentation!? Who do you think you're trying to impress, other than to make yourself look more 'powerful' than you really are! I know you're weak, you know it too. It's only a matter of time before everyone else finds out as well." Augustus spat, before turning around and leaving the palace. Octavio turned to face a guard after hearing the doors slam shut.

"Inform the engineers to begin repairs of the Great Octoweapons. We must militarize quickly and prevent Cuttlefish from getting the Great Zapfish."

"Yes, my King." The guard answered and ran off, while Octavio slumped back in his throne, sulking about Augustus.

* * *

 **At the library…**

"Nemo, come on, don't be like this." Octavia tried to console her brother. "I'm sure Natalie will be fine. She's always been tough, even before that experiment. She can handle this, I know it."

"No, you don't understand. Those Inklings wouldn't hesitate to splat her if it meant safety for their people. And you know our respawners have to be turned off for a week every month to conserve energy. If she was splatted when the respawners were turned off, then…" Nemo shook his head to rid that horrifying thought. "No, don't even think about jinxing her."

"Come on, Nemo. Get a grip." Cici may be blunt, but she was still willing to give her friend support when he needed it. "If you just think that she will get splatted, then she will. Have faith in her. Believe that she can come back safe and sound."

Meanwhile, Trenton was still sitting on an empty side of the table, far away from everyone else. He didn't know what to say to comfort his friend and soothe his worries. Those cadets were right, he's just a dumb child who doesn't know how to protect himself, all because he was too scared to fight.

Great, those thoughts were weighing him down again. He promised he wouldn't have these thoughts anymore. Maybe he should get a book and read. That always helped soothe his mind. He got up and walked over to one of the bookshelves. Most of them were history books, combat manuals, and academic reference books. He picked up an engineering reference book; machines had always mystified him. He began walking back to the table, but he accidentally bumped into a small girl walking past him. The girl stumbled backwards, but held onto the corner of a nearby table before her back could collide with the ground. Once Trenton regained his composure, he began to rapidly spit out apologies, "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't notice you! Are you alright?"

Once the girl stood back up, Trenton got a good look on her rather small body and tired eyes. She was staring blankly at Trenton before she began doing some gestures. Trenton recognized it as Octarian sign language, but he didn't understand. He should've paid more attention in class. The girl seemed to realize he didn't understand and simply wrote something on a small piece of paper before handing it to him:

" _I'm alright, don't worry. And yes, I am mute. I have to go now."_

When he looked back up, the girl was already gone. _A mute, huh?_ She was the first mute Trenton had met. That would make communication much harder for her with her comrades. Well, if she was naturally mute from birth, she might've already found a way to get around that. He quietly walked back to the table Nemo and the others occupied, and began reading silently, while silently praying Natalie can return safely.

* * *

"Jeez, Sheldon can go on for **hours** had that customer not stepped in!" Natalie listened to the little Inkling grumble. That tiny horseshoe crab owning the weapons store sure was a geek. He loved to ramble on about how his weapons work. So far, the Inkling had shown her some of the stores in the city. Despite her objections, the Inkling had bought for her a weapon called the 'Splattershot Junior'." It was rather colorful and seemed to be less sturdy than her Octo Shot. Well, these weapons are used for a sport, not for war, or so the Inkling claimed. For all she knew, the Inklings could be planning a big assault on the Octarians using these very weapons. She kept her guard high at all times, never really trusting anyone here, not even the little girl showing her around.

"Say...how easy is it to live here?"

"Huh? Pfft, that's such an easy answer. Inkopolis us the BEST place to live. Good homes, good people, everything's great! Better yet, you can get a decent apartment for just a small price."

"Oh that's...that's nice actually. Might try to find a good apartment around here."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. You know if you want, you can play Turf War with me some time."

"Maybe one day…" Natalie wondered to herself. It would be great for Inklings and Octarians to just set aside their differences, all the things that happened long ago, and finally come together to live in peace like they used to, not in pieces like they are now.

"Ooh I know! Maybe you can come over to my place!" The girl suddenly exclaimed.

"Uh...you sure? I'm a complete stranger and-" Natalie was highly confused. Why would this girl, a nice looking Inkling girl and seemed to young and chirpy, invite some random stranger she hasn't even met before to her house? It baffled the Octoling, to say the least.

"Oh it's fine. Besides, what're you going to do to me?" The girl asked, unaware of Natalie's true identity. Natalie just shook her head, first in disbelief, and then in confusion.

"Okay...weird and possibly dangerous decision-making on your part, but I guess I can come…" Natalie answered, finally giving in.

"Cool! Let's go now!"

"Wait, what?" Natalie was about to say something before she could feel the Inkling girl drag her around once more. They dashed down the roads, away from the bustling Plaza, towards a nice looking area. The area was made up of several apartment buildings that were some space separate from each other, the sidewalks not crowded at all. A few Inkling kids were on the sidewalks playing around with a ball, and the whole area felt so clean and refreshing. It was a nice break from the dark gloomy residences that made up Octo Valley's domes. Natalie just looked all around her, taking breaths of the fresh surface air and listening to the ambient sounds of the city around her. Meanwhile, the Inkling girl was dragging her towards an apartment, before opening the door with a key and letting the Octoling in.

"Okay, welcome to my humble home! It's not that huge, I mean, compared to some other people close to here, but it's good for me and my brother."

"Brother?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah, I live with my brother. I don't know if he's home or not though. He probably won't mind me bringing a friend over... **"** The Inkling girl said, dropping her weapons and gear onto the floor beside the door and kicking off her shoes. Natalie looked around the small apartment, with a nice but small living room right in front of her. Everything in the room was pretty small to fit it, like the small flatscreen TV, or the nice looking furniture with a plethora of pillows and blankets messily covering every surface. Natalie just took off her suicide-backpack and dumped it on the floor beside her, before taking a nice big stretch. She sighed, as the day had been quite stressful for her early on. Being in Inkopolis felt great compared to the melancholy, depressing depths of the underground, but at the same time the idea of being caught, whether it was something she said or whether her disguise device somehow malfunctions, being caught could have deadly consequences.

"Hey, want something to eat? Cause I'm starving!" The chirpy Inkling girl exclaimed, and Natalie followed her into a room that was a mix between a kitchen and a small dining room. There, they both saw an Inkling boy staring at a small handheld device, the bright screen shining a layer of light on his face.

"Allison, I was wondering when you were home."  
"Nicholas?" The Inkling girl, "Allison", asked.

" _Oh no, another Inkling…"_ Natalie thought, as she realized the stress levels in her head might be rising more now with another Inkling here.

* * *

 **And that's the end of the second part of our little "deviation". So, what happens to Natalie next, and how will her experience of Inkopolis and a close up encounter with some Inklings end up? Better read the next chapter then (once it comes out, that is). Well, that's all for now, so hope you enjoyed and be sure to leave a review while you wait for the next part!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Deviation Part 3**

 **The final part of the Inkopolis arc is out! Sorry for the late release, I admittedly got caught up in trying to update my other stories and sort of forgot about this one, that and I was trying to make it a bit long to fit the things I wanted to fit in without making it feel or sound too rushed. So yeah, it's a bit on the long side but hopefully it was worth the wait. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Natalie's heartbeat got faster and faster as the Inkling boy before her scanned her thoroughly with his golden eyes. He had six short tentacles pointing towards the back of his head and going downwards towards his neck. He also seemed slightly taller than the girl, although not by much. The Inkling girl, who Natalie now knew was named Allison, could tell there was some tension in the air.

"Uh so...how about we all sit down and get ready for dinner? I'm kinda hungry."

"Yeah, that could work." Nicholas agreed, still not taking his eyes off Natalie. She couldn't tell whether this was scary or creepy, or maybe both.

Both siblings went to heat up some leftovers they had in the refrigerator. Natalie watched as they set the table, grabbing utensils and napkins and setting them neatly on their spots. Natalie quietly offered to help, but they both insisted they do it, which was probably for the best. She could hear them discussing about something, but couldn't make out what they were saying, even though she knew how to speak Inkling. In just a few minutes, the food was all ready to eat, and all three of them gathered around the small dining table to eat. Natalie quietly picked at her food, occasionally looking up slightly to see Nicholas still watching her.

"So...from what my sister told me, you're new to Inkopolis."

"Y-yes."

"So where are you from? It's always interesting to hear where around the world everyone comes from." Nicholas asked, sounding genuinely intrigued. Natalie swallowed some food hard, before trying to come up with an answer. She studied some stuff on Inklings and the surface, but those were all old records and maps. No doubt things definitely have changed since then.

"I uh…"

"Hm? Come on, don't be shy, I'm just curious." Nicholas said, although the suspicious look he was giving her didn't seem to agree with the words coming from his mouth. Natalie just spun her fork in circles, still trying to think of what to say. Finally, she just decided to make something random, and hope that the boy will be convinced.

"I come from...Calamari Country."

"County, you mean?" Nicholas corrected. Natalie was stunned. She simply just made some random place up in her head to say, only to realize that it was an actual place. It felt relieving now to finally find an answer that the boy seemed satisfied with.

"Y-yes, that."

"Huh, interesting. So, you come from the same place as the Squid Sisters? That's pretty cool actually. Say, what is it like over there?"

"Uh...well...it's nice, I guess. It's a nice place to live in." Natalie answered quickly.

"Strange, I've met some people from that area, but they don't really sound like you. By that, I mean they don't have an accent like you do. So, what accent is that?" Before Natalie could answer, Allison thankfully interjected.

"Hey, let's change the subject, you're terrifying her." Allison whispered to her brother, leaning toward his ear.

"What? I'm just asking her where she comes from, it's a simple question. Besides, she looks super sketchy and suspicious, who knows what she's up to."

"Can we please just change the subject?"

"Fine." Nicholas reluctantly gave in, and Allison started a different conversation topic.

"So Natalie, wanna try some Turf Wars tomorrow? I mean, we didn't really do much at all, and I really think you should experience the glory of Turf in person!"

"Perhaps…"

"Cool! What weapon are you good at?" Allison asked, now with a big smile on her face while Nicholas was focused on eating. Natalie thought about it for a little, before giving an answer.

"I think I am best with the Oc-I mean, the gun."

"Which one? There's tons."

"Uh...the regular one?"

"Oh, the Splattershot? That's cool. Hey, maybe you're good with other weapons too! I'm good with Rollers and Splattershot! But still, I'm more on the side of Rollers." Allison said. Natalie could feel a small buzz in her pocket. She could tell it was the disguise kit device, and when she pulled it out slightly to see it, she could tell it was starting to malfunction again. Panicking, she quickly stood up from her seat, which startled both siblings.

"Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom!" Natalie said very quickly and loudly.

"Uh...it's down the hall and to your left." Nicholas answered.

"I...I am sorry…" Natalie apologized softly, before running off. When she was gone, Nicholas turned to his sister, the suspicious look still on his face. "You made friends with a really weird girl today, sis. I hope she's trustworthy, because she seems a little strange."

"So? At least she's nice." Allison defended. Nicholas simply shrugged, before they both went back to finishing their food, with no words being exchanged between either one of them.

Natalie rushed into the bathroom, before slamming the door shut. She quickly pulled out the disguise kit device, which started to spark a bit. It was burning hot, and Natalie dropped it into the sink after holding it for only a few seconds.

"Ah ah, hot! Ouch...oh no…" Natalie muttered, as she realized her disguise was quickly disappearing and she was in her true Octoling form once more.

"Come on, I can't repeat this again, not again!" Natalie said, trying to do the best she could to fix the device. Unfortunately, it just made a short and sudden buzz sound before a loud pop rang around the room, and finally it stopped working. Feeling a powerful wave a defeat crashing over her, Natalie just slumped against the wall and sat on the floor, sulking. She held the device in her hand, staring at it intensely for a few seconds, as if she was trying to will it back to life, but it was to no avail. In both anger and frustration, she chucked the device against the wall, where it crashed before bouncing into a trash can. Natalie then continued to sit there, feeling hopeless and defeated. She sat there for a while, but before long she heard a knock on the door, followed by a familiar voice.

"Hey Natalie, is everything okay in there? I mean, we did hear the door slam and we heard a few small noises, so, just wondering." Allison asked, but Natalie didn't respond. Instead, she just sunk her head in her arms. This couldn't get any worse; the last thing she needed was either of those two Inklings to find out the truth. She just sat there, hoping that Allison would leave her alone if she didn't respond, but she didn't think it would be that easy.

Meanwhile outside of the bathroom, Allison seemed very worried about her new Inkling friend. She leaned against the door and accidentally leaned against the knob, which was starting to turn. Allison leapt back in surprise, and realized that the door wasn't locked.

" _Maybe they don't have locks on their bathrooms where she comes from?"_ Allison pondered. She didn't want to intrude, but at the same time she wanted to see what was happening. Finally, her curiosity gave in and she opened the bathroom door, with a part of her also worried for the Inkling inside. However, when she opened the door and looked in, she didn't see an Inkling. Instead, she saw someone else in the bathroom, someone who didn't look like Natalie at all.

"Wh-what...w-w-who are you?" Allison asked. The person in question lifted her head and looked at Allison, a terrified expression on her face.

"P-please don't hurt me...I promise I will leave, just please don't hurt me…" The person begged. Allison recognized the voice immediately.

"Natalie? Is that you?"

"Y-yes…"

"What are you?...Aren't you an Inkling?" Allison asked.

"I can explain. Just...can we go somewhere else?"

"Sure! Let's go to my room, we can talk there, okay? I promise not to hurt you." Allison said, and she offered her hand to Natalie, who took it and stood up. The two snuck away to Allison's room, with Nicholas unaware of where they were. After a few seconds of waiting for Allison to return, he just shrugged, and decided to just clean the table himself.

Natalie's heart barely calmed down as she set foot into the room, safe from the untrusting Nicholas, for now. Allison immediately locked the door behind them once they entered; she knew nothing would be good if her brother saw Natalie like this. She swerved around to in front of Natalie, inspecting her true appearance with wary, but somewhat curious eyes. "So, you're not an Inkling at all, are you?"

"No, I am not." The only thing Natalie could do now is spill the truth. "I am an Octarian, the ancient enemies of you Inklings."

"Octarians?" Allison had learned some bits about this species and the great war between them and the Inklings in Inkblot, but she knew little about them. "I've learned about them."

"Allison, I am sorry for lying to you. Everything I said about me was a lie. I am not from Calamari County or anywhere nearby; I am from the underground. I am not even supposed to be here." Perhaps, if she told all the truth, she may be able to convince this Inkling to spare her. She stayed silent and still as Allison stepped closer to her, staring at her curiously. After five tense seconds, Allison raised a finger and poked the tip of one of Natalie's red tentacles. It immediately recoiled out of natural reflex, while Natalie winced a little. Allison realized what she did was probably impolite and she drew her hand away, "Oh, sorry about that. It was rude of me. I'm just curious, you know? You're the first Octoling I've ever seen."

"Obviously." Natalie was bewildered why Allison was so relaxed at the sight of an Octoling. Does she not know the dangers an Octarian could pose? If she were any other Octoling soldier who wasn't as soft, Allison would have been turned into a puddle of orange when they first met.

"Anyway, uh… what now?"

"What?"

"You're not from here, so what do you plan to do now?" That was the one question she did not know how to answer. It was obvious she would have to return to the academy and report back to Augustus and the others, and assure her friends she wasn't dead, but there was no way she could go back to that manhole without getting hundreds of pairs of eyes glued onto her, at best. At worst, she would be arrested, and possibly executed. Her primal fear of death surged up at that thought and she shivered slightly. Allison noticed this and became concerned. "Natalie, is something wrong?"

"N-Nothing, just...I don't know how to go back. Your brother would definitely get me arrested if he saw me as an Octarian, and I would probably get executed. I…" Tears began to flow out of her eyes. "I don't know what to do."

"Natalie, it's okay!" Allison quickly went up to her to brush away the tears. "I can convince my brother to not hurt you. Besides, if ever does hurt you, it would only be if you posed a threat to us."

"B-but I do, don't I? Am I not your enemy?"

"Well, you aren't trying to kill me right now, and if anything you seem terrified of me rather than the other way around. So no, you are not my enemy, and you never were, okay? Here, I'll go get you a glass of water. Just stay right here and don't come out, okay?"

"Alright…" Natalie muttered quietly in between a few sniffles. She could feel her hearts beginning to slow down in their beats, and she started to feel slightly more relaxed, however, the tension and stress was still there, lingering in her mind. Allison got out of the room, silently closing the door behind her as Natalie watched.

"Hey Allison, what took you so long? I was waiting for you but you didn't come back." Nicholas asked.

"Sorry, something just came up. You kind of made Natalie upset, so I was just trying to calm her down a bit." Allison answered, sounding slightly annoyed and miffed. Nicholas sighed, pushing one of the chairs back into the table.

"Look, I'm sorry if your new friend feels that way, but it just feels so weird, you know? Letting some random girl into our house, especially someone you just met. Not only that, this girl sounds very suspicious to me, especially since she doesn't even sound like she knows where she's from, let alone the fact she didn't even know the name of the most basic weapon in existence."

"About that…"

"About what? The fact that nobody, and I mean nobody, calls a Splattershot the 'regular gun'?"

"No, about the part where she doesn't know where she's from." Allison corrected, and Nicholas nodded. Allison took a glass cup from one of the cupboards and walked over to the refrigerator, which had a water and ice cube dispenser on one of its doors.

"Okay, what about it?"

"Well, technically she doesn't know where she's from...because she doesn't live here." Allison said, filling the glass with a few ice cubes before filling it with some water.

"Well obviously. She said she's from Calamari County, right?"

"No, she lied about that." Allison said casually.

"Wait what? Then where is she from?"

"Well...Natalie is...she's an Octoling."

"Octoling!? Allison, come here!" Nicholas whispered urgently, and dragged her over to a wall.

"Allison, you remember what they taught us at school, right? The Octarians, they tried to kill us! They would go through the towns of Inklings and destroy everyone and everything in their path!"

"But Natalie's in my room right now, and when I was there she didn't try to hurt me! She thought I was the one who was going to hurt her!"

"But sis…"

"No, I don't think she's going to hurt us. I think she's scared of us, Nicholas. We should help her."

"Helping an ancient enemy? No way." Nicholas disagreed, crossing his arms.

"Please? She was afraid you're going to hurt her...I think she just wants to go back home."

"Yeah, go back home and then bring the whole army back here so they can finish what they started…" Nicholas whispered, and he got rewarded with a small smack on the side of his arm courtesy his sister.

"Ow! Okay, okay, fine! I'll help her, but that doesn't mean I will like helping her. I'm doing this for you, not for her." Nicholas finally gave in. Allison gave a sigh of relief as her brother walked away and to his room.

" _Okay, I think we're all good! Just need to find out how Natalie will get out of here and back home, and everything will be a-okay! But first, I think it's time to go to bed, I'm tired."_ Allison said to herself, yawning as she headed to her room. She opened the door to see Natalie sitting on the edge of her bed, nervously staring at the ground.

"Hey, so I talked to my brother and he's going to help me help you to get back home." Natalie perked her head up, a small glimmer of hope shining in her expression. "But for now…" Allison said while rummaging through a drawer, looking for something. Finally, she pulled out a shirt and some shorts. "You can sleep here. Besides, it's getting late at night anyways."

"Oh...okay…" Natalie said, and she took the clothes Allison had gotten for her and took off her lightweight armor and started to change at the corner of the room while Allison looked through her closet. She tossed out a few blankets and a pillow, and made a small area where Natalie could sleep.

"I sleep here?"

"Yeah, sorry if it isn't much."

"N-no, it's fine! I appreciate your kindness."

"Heh, thanks. Well, I'm super tired, I want to sleep. Good night." Allison shuffled towards her bed and buried herself under the covers.

"G-good night." Natalie replied back, moving the blankets around to make a makeshift bed. She laid down, resting her head on the comfy pillow given to her.

" _Hm, Inkopolis feels so different...it feels amazing. I wasn't expecting so many nice people to be around...especially when those people are supposed to hate me! If I only I could stay here forever...maybe when I go back, I'll bring Nemo with me and we can settle here peacefully."_ Natalie thought to herself, slowly drifting to sleep.

* * *

 **Next morning...**

The apartment was filled with a very tense atmosphere as Natalie stared into Nicholas' stern golden eyes, frozen in fear. Allison had convinced her to let Nicholas see her face-to-face, and assured her he wouldn't hurt her. Yet, Natalie kept her distance from the boy, and could sense that he still did not trust her, which was justified. Nicholas seemed to be inspecting her from head to toe, even though his eyes never moved. They were at the dining table again, eating breakfast or just sitting there casually.

"So, you are an Octoling?" Nicholas asked.

"Y-yes. I hope you don't mind me being here…" Natalie muttered. Allison gave her brother a look that probably told him "be nice". He sighed quietly before answering.

"No, it's fine, Natalie. I don't mind you being an Octoling, as long as you aren't trying to kill us." Nicholas said, although there was a lingering feeling of uncertainty around his words.

"Oh, thank you." Natalie said gratefully, though the shakiness of her voice didn't really help to show it.

"So...what are you two gonna do today? I mean, I was gonna do some turf, maybe buy some more gear and weapons." Nicholas asked.

"Oh, well I guess we could just do whatever we feel like throughout the day. Maybe I'll try to scout out and see if I can find a way to get her back home!" Allison answered. She munched away at her cereal happily, trying to eat as fast as possible so she could be out the door in time to do some fun activities.

"Sounds like a good idea. Alright, I'm going to head out, see you guys later." Nicholas said to the two, before heading out the front door. When they heard the door close, Allison looked towards Natalie's direction, and could see she seemed more relaxed than a few seconds prior.

"You okay?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine." Natalie responded. Allison put a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort the Octoling.

"Hey, it's okay. I already talked to my brother and he's fine with you being here. I'll see what I can do to help you get back home, I promise." Allison said.

"Thank you." Natalie replied, giving her a small smile. The two cleaned up the table, which didn't require much effort as Allison was the only person eating a bowl of cereal.

"Wait, how am I supposed to go out like this? I'm an Octoling, people will see me and probably get alarmed." Natalie said, pointing at her tentacles.

"Can't you just use that disguise thing? I mean, it works REALLY well. Actually, I kind of want one of those…"

"No. I am afraid it is completely fried, and I don't know how to fix it." Natalie replied sadly. Allison just examined her head, before running off. Natalie could hear a door open, and some things being moved around in what she assumed was some sort of closet. Finally, Allison ran back with a hat, a satisfied smile on her face. With two hands, she put the hat on Natalie, which surprised the Octoling. Once the hat was on, she stepped back and admired her work while Natalie just stared in confusion.

"What is this?"

"A hat. A Jungle Hat to be exact. Looks nice on your head."

"Um...thanks?" Natalie said with uncertainty, before following up with another question "What exactly is this supposed to do?"

"Oh, it's gonna cover your tentacles so people don't see the differences between you and an Inkling. Now, I need you to stand still for a while." Allison once again leapt at Natalie, grabbing her face and pulling out a black marker. All Natalie saw was the word "permanent" in Inkling on the marker's side, which freaked her out.

"Wh-what are you doing!? Is this stuff really permanent!? H-help!"

"Woah, calm down, this isn't actually permanent, just harder to wash off. There!" Allison said before walking behind Natalie and repositioning the Octoling so that she was staring at a nearby mirror. Natalie could now see that her eyes were now connected by a black stripe, similar to Allison's eyes, and the hat actually covered her suction cups well. "Now you look just like an Inkling!"

"Oh...I guess that's what you are doing. Thank you." Natalie said.

"No problem. You look pretty fresh! Okay, let's go and have some fun, and maybe get you back home!" Natalie followed the Inkling out the door, and outside to the city of Inkopolis, feeling much safer with her disguise on.

* * *

"So Natalie, I always wanted to ask; how did you learn to speak my language? I mean, I'm assuming we speak a different language than Octarians, unless we don't…" Allison asked as they walked towards the Plaza. The city sidewalks weren't too crowded, but the roads were quite the opposite. Many vehicles drove past the two, zipping by. The many cars and trucks that drove past them reminded Natalie of the few she saw back at her home, only these looked much less militarized. She felt the grooves of the small gun that Allison offered to her. It was rather blocky in shape, and it was made of what she would guess was cheap plastic, unlike the heavy Octo Shots she always used. She also had a new, larger and plainer ink tank, consisting of a 1-foot tall plastic tank with a green cap. She tried to deny the offers at first, but the little Inkling insisted and eventually Natalie caved in.

"Oh, I learned by reading some books on your language. There's really not much to do in the military school, besides follow orders, combat training, and then lots of down time."

"Huh, interesting...so, let's say you got into a fight!" Allison said, hypothetically.

"What?" Natalie asked, confused.

"Hypothetically, let's say you got into a fight and there's...I don't know, five armed guys? Do you think you can take them on?"

"What kind of question is that?" Natalie questioned the younger Inkling.

"I mean, you _are_ a soldier, so you might've gone through training, haven't you?"

"Yes. Still, why ask me that? You really want to see how strong I can be?"

"I don't know, I was just curious. It's not often, or at all, that you get to experience a soldier who everyone says is going to splat you the instant you both make eye contact. But seriously, you think you can fight them?" Allison explained, right before asking the same question once more. Natalie just rolled her eyes while thinking of an answer.

"Um...I can, I guess…"

"Cool. Have you ever been...in battle?"

"..." Natalie didn't know whether to respond, as she didn't know the answer herself. Had she been in battle before? She had a few small encounters with Owen and Oscar, but those hardly seemed like battles, or even fights. Her encounter with the Inklings didn't sound like a battle either, more like a mission gone wrong.

"Um, no."

"Oh. Wait, so what do you do then? If you aren't ever in a battle, and you just train all the time, then what's the point? You aren't really doing anything."

"Well, I have no choice. It's the duty of every soldier. I can't just leave, I'll be arrested for treason and cowardice."

"Wait, but you're here right now." Allison pointed out. Natalie stopped in her tracks, and so did Allison. The Octoling turned around to face her, and Allison could see anguish plastered on her face, suddenly becoming more serious, with a small hint of frustration in her voice.

"Because my superior thinks I'm dead! He just left me out there to die, like cannon fodder! And you know what, maybe I did waste my life! Maybe I did waste all my time, living in a gloomy underground dome doing nothing but becoming a weapon for others to use!" Natalie shouted. She garnered some attention from several people walking by, who just stared at her for a few seconds before minding their own business and moving along. After that, Natalie began to close back up, bringing the hat more down on her face to cover her eyes while she walked away. Allison chased after her, concerned about her new friend.

"Hey, wait!" Allison called out, finally reaching the Octoling. "Why don't you just stay here then? I mean, you seem to really like this place over your home, and Inkopolis sure does sound way nicer than wherever you live. No offense." Allison explained. Natalie stopped dead in her tracks, pondering on what the Inkling just said.

" _Could I really live here? Augustus thinks I'm dead, so I guess there would be no logical reason for them to come looking for me. But Nemo misses me, and I'm sure my disappearance is hurting him. But...Inkopolis is such a nice place to live, and...I feel so free here…"_

"So? Are you going to go back, or stay? I think you should stay! Forget about your dumb school, you can stay here and hang out with me! And maybe I can help you move in, and Nicholas probably won't call the cops, and then everything's all good!" Allison said, explaining her point of view to the Octoling. She sighed, staring at her Inkling friend in the eyes before replying.

"No. I'm going back." Natalie simply said, before continuing down towards the Plaza. Allison just stared in shock, as if the Octoling commited a harsh felony.

"Wh-what? No, you can't! It sounds so awful over there!"

"I'm going to return, whether I or anyone else likes it or not." Natalie simply stated. The Inkling just looked up at her with a forlorn expression, her eyes begging the Octoling to change her mind. They finally reached the entrance of Inkopolis Plaza, which definitely felt like it took a whole entire journey to get to.

"Allison, can you do me a favor?" Natalie asked her, as she stared at the Plaza through the entrance, watching the many Inkling kids and Jellyfish roaming around.

"S-sure! What is it?" Allison eagerly answered, which surprised Natalie.

" _Inklings sure do make friends easily…"_ Natalie thought to herself. "Well, I'm going to return to Octo Valley, to my home. But, do you think that maybe it's possible for me to come back? I mean, I know it's a lot to ask of you, but I have people I care about back home, and I just thought maybe I could bring them."

"Sure! You came here once, you can do it again!"

"I came here after nearly losing my life."

"But I'll help you! Just promise me you won't stay in that gross place for too long, okay?" Allison asked hopefully. She held out her hand, her fingers curled into a fist, all but her pinky, which she stuck out. Natalie looked at the strange gesture, tilting her head slightly to the side to see it from a different angle.

"Okay, I promise...but I must ask, what are you doing?" Natalie asked. Allison was confused at what she was referring to, until she saw Natalie looking at her hand gesture.

"Oh this? Here, when people make promises, sometimes they do something called a pinky promise! You just get your pinky-" Allison started to explain, grabbing Natalie's hand and spooking her from a trance. "-and then you join it with mine! See?"

"Oh...okay. So this is a common gesture?"

"W-Well, I've done it with my friends often, so I guess. But you do promise, right?" Allison asked.

"Yes, I do."

"Pinky promise?" Allison asked, holding out her pinky once more. Natalie smiled, and completed the newly learned sign with her.

"Pinky promise."

* * *

"Ah, nothing like a few rounds of turf to get me back to a relaxed mood." Nicholas said to himself aloud. He walked out of the lobby, stretching a few times before finding a nice wall to lean against. Nicholas casually browsed his squidphone, all the while thinking about the Octoling he's been seeing recently.

 _I still don't trust that girl. No matter what she says, she sounds so suspicious. Maybe I'm being overprotective, but Allison just needs to understand it's for her own safety. I mean, what if she attacks us?_ The idea of hiding an Octoling in his apartment sounded ludicrous and dumb, but seeing how it made his sister happy, he just went along with the plan. The whole event has had the Inkling boy slightly on edge for the past few hours, and he looked up to stare at the Turf War waiting lobby.

"You know, maybe another game won't hurt. I mean, I need something to keep all of this hectic mess out of my mind, might as well be some Turf." Nicholas said. He walked up to the lobby, which was just starting to prepare to send another batch of Inklings into a round. There were some Inklings already there waiting, a few of them striking conversations with one another to pass the time. Nicholas quietly waited for him to be brought into one of the chosen stages for the time being, until he heard a familiar voice.

"Come on Natalie, you should try it! It's going to be a blast!" One loud chirpy voice shouted.

"Allison please, this 'game' you're telling me about sounds absolutely terrifying!" Another voice followed, more quiet and concerned in tone. Nicholas already knew who the voices belonged to, and in his head, he started regretting to come for one more round.

"Oh hey brother, didn't see you there!" Allison said, waving happily.

"Hi…" Nicholas replied, trying not to make eye contact with her or her companion.

"I was just going to show Natalie how awesome Turf is! Surprise to see you here, but this makes it so much better. We are going to have SO much fun!"

"Your friend over there looks absolutely terrified."

"Is this 'Turf War' game dangerous? It sounds like a horrible gladiatorial match. I'm surprised you're all still alive." Natalie asked Nicholas, who just sighed. None of the other Inklings seemed to have noticed the newcomers, too focused on other things to care.

"Yeah, this game's dangerous. We Inklings love to kill each other in cold sport. You might not make it." Nicholas mumbled in a bored tone, rolling his eyes. This seemed to concern the Octoling even further, who immediately shut up. Just then, it was announced that the battle was about to start, and all the competitors in the lobby walked in to start the game.

* * *

"Arowana Mall, huh?" Nicholas looked down at the open square not far away from their respawn point. Personally, he disliked this stage, since Chargers loved to hide up on the upper walkways and snipe him down, but still, he would try to make this a decent round of Turf War. Natalie was glancing around, trying to assess the new environment. She could see large pink...things floating in the sky above. She could see beds of green plants decorating the paths. Small brown birds rested on the black fence which was the only thing preventing them from falling off the place. She looked down at her weapon, and it was then she noticed something new; the rectangular body of the gun, which was pink before, was now indigo. She unslung her ink tank and saw her fuchsia ink had turned indigo as well.

""What?" She couldn't help but yelp that out as she stared at the color. She did not remember changing her ink color at all. "What happened to me?"

"Whoa, whoa." Allison looked at her friend. "What's wrong, Natalie?"

"I'm blue now." She pointed at the ink sloshing in her tank. "How did I change my color so suddenly like this?"

"You're really new to Turf War, aren't cha?" An Inkling boy spoke up behind her. "When we start a Turf War, we're assigned to a pair of random colors. Our colors are determined by these respawn points." He tapped his Mawcassins against the respawn pad they were standing on, prompting Natalie to look down at a circular device containing what seemed to be the same blue ink swirling within. Small blue lights flashed periodically at the two antennae on opposite sides of the metal rim of the device. "The goal of Turf War is to cover as much ground as possible with our ink, same for the other team."

"Other team?" Natalie peered hard at the distance, and she could somewhat see some figures at the far end of the building.

"Yeah, we compete with another team. Whichever team can cover more turf than the other wins the Turf War." The boy continued to explain. "We can also use our weapons to splat them to obstruct them."

"W-Wait, _kill_ them?" Natalie could feel her own ink freeze up within her. "You-You're not serious, are you?"

"Whoa, relax, lass. They come back from being splatted after a while, thanks to these respawn points." He tapped his shoes against their respawn pad again. "Ultimately, splatting them is just a hindrance for them, nothing serious, so chill out."

Frankly, Natalie was having trouble to do just that. She had been taught if you splat someone, it's game over for them, and they stay dead. Yet, these Inklings talk about it like they do it in every day of their lives. The uncanny casualness was starting to get to her a little.

"Hey," Nicholas got Natalie's attention with a gentle tap on her shoulder. "Pay attention, match's about to start, in 15 more seconds." Natalie tensed up even more; she had never done this before, and she doesn't want to accidentally reveal her identity in the middle of the Turf War. She looked around at her teammates; Allison was bent down, a Roller in her hands, and grinning confidently. Her brother was also smiling and holding his weapon, which had a red body and two nozzles. In contrast, the boy behind them kept a stony face as he flicked his eyes from one place to another like an Octosniper on guard, possibly scanning for any shortcuts or choke points. He seemed to be a rather serious player of this "Turf War". She identified his weapon as a slightly modified version of the Bamboozler, the iconic weapon of the Inklings back in the Great Turf War. All three of them were excited for what's to come, unlike Natalie, whose heart was beating loudly within her. _Cover the ground with ink, that's the goal,_ she kept repeating to herself. She closed her eyes and kept reciting silently as the mechanical voice counted down the time remaining before the Turf War starts for real.

 _Three…_

 _Two…_

 _One…_

 _ **GO!**_

Without thinking of what to do, where to go, Natalie ran out of spawn and down the ramp, as if someone pushed her from behind. Adrenaline started to course within her as she squeezed down the trigger of her weapon. Electric blue splashed out of the weapon's nozzle and painted the ground. Fear was no longer within her, just fiery determination pushing her to win this Turf War for her new friend.

"Hey, she's getting the hang of it!" Allison cheered happily as she rolled her way down the left upper pathway with her Carbon Roller, covering it with the same blue ink. She hopped down the ledge and into the second square. She stood on the steel mesh and saw two opposing players charging into the central ramp, both armed with Inkbrushes. She looked behind at Natalie, who had just entered the second square as well. The boy with the Bamboozler II was on the ledge on the other side, with Nicholas behind him. She chuckled and raised her Roller high, before leaping off the mesh and right into the two opposing Inkbrushes. "Inkoming!"

"Allison!" Natalie cried out for her friend as she saw her doing what was possibly suicide, diving towards the two Inklings from the other team. The one with a black bandana swerved away from Allison as she bonked the other Inkling with her Roller. To Natalie's shock, the Inkling immediately imploded into a burst of indigo, before what seemed to be a ghost of a squid floated out of the mess and flew back to the spawn point of the opposing team.

Natalie's ability to move disappeared for a moment as she processed what just happened. The boy just got splatted, like the Inklings said. She watched as Allison grinned and took a sharp turn to her left to battle the other Inkling. They were taking this like it was something they do every single day. She ran forward, finger never loosening from the trigger of her weapon. Blue replaced orange as she sprinted onto the central ramp. As she submerged into ink for a moment to take a breather, she could see Nicholas and the other teammate of theirs charging in. Did the boy just...die? She looked over at Allison advancing towards the other Inkling, who was swinging his large weapon around and flicking orange ink around. She skillfully dodged his large flings of ink, rolling behind him and slamming the weapon down onto his body. The boy cried out for a split second before a small little ghost floated up into the air towards his team's respawn pads, a splotch of blue ink where he once stood. Allison gave the terrified Octoling a thumbs up before moving on to cover more areas. Natalie was now alone in the battlefield, like the many times before.

"Why is it that I'm the one always left to fend for myself?" Natalie muttered to herself, thinking back at the most recent example being the espionage suicide mission given to her from Augustus. Any further thoughts were pulled away from her as she watched from the corner of her eye that several rounds of orange ink were being fired at her. Natalie quickly swam off and turned around, aiming her Splattershot in the direction of the attack. She saw an orange Inkling boy there, hiding behind one of the steep ramps for cover. Natalie saw more shots being fired at her and swam towards the side to dodge them, trying her best to try to go around and attack him from the side. She eventually got a good view of the boy, who hadn't yet noticed she had found his hiding spot. Natalie, without much thought put into it, charged at the boy guns blazing, quickly splatting him before he could react. She watched before her very eyes as he exploded into orange ink that was quickly replaced by the blue ink from her weapon. She watched as his sad looking ghost floated away, and while she knew he would come back completely fine, the experience still somewhat shook her.

" _I...I splatted an Inkling..."_ Natalie thought, staring at her weapon in concern.

" _Did I really just take a life?"_ Natalie questioned. This whole experience was new to her, the whole "respawning" concept was something she had never heard of. She remembered that back in Octo Valley, she had always been taught that once you were splatted, you would never come back. Your only trace of existence in this world was either a distant memory or a puddle of ink, nothing more. Now, she was slightly confused. The Inklings splatted each other for fun, a sport which sounded malicious until the whole respawning concept came into play. And yet, after just splatting an Inkling, she somehow found it to be somewhat...fun.

Natalie raced off to find more opponents, quickly taking them down and racking up splats as she did so. Finally, for the first time, she was splatted. It happened so quickly, so suddenly, she hardly even noticed or felt it happen until the moment passed. Soon enough, she rose right up from the respawn pad, feeling like a product fresh off an assembly line.

"I...I can definitely get used to this…"

"Hey Oct-I mean Natalie, follow me, we need to take back the middle before they do!" She heard from behind her. Natalie turned around to see Nicholas, motioning for her to follow, which she did obediently. The two swam from the sides of the stage, jumping down from above towards the middle. There, they were met by the whole orange team, who were quickly outnumbering Allison.  
"There! Get them!" Nicholas ordered, and they both opened fire on the crowd, catching two of them in the spray of ink projectiles while the other two swam for cover. Nicholas remained behind with Allison, the two of them covering turf while the fourth teammate super jumped to their location. Natalie on the other hand went after the other two Inkling opponents, hunting them down as they ran and tried to cover turf as they went. Natalie was in hot pursuit, throwing a bomb at one while firing at the other. The Bamboozler teammate managed to splat one of them, surprising her. Her bomb happened to blow the other one to nothing but small droplets of ink, which she celebrated briefly with a cheer. The rest of the match passed by very quickly, and soon enough players on both sides were waiting for a fat cat holding two flags to choose the winner. They watched the cat intently, the screen behind him showing colored bars starting to fill, representing their coverage of the stage. Soon, the cat tilted to one side, holding one of the flags up into the air as he announced the winner: blue team.

"We won!" Allison exclaimed, leaping into the air happily at the news. Natalie was also pumped up and excited, now understanding why the squids loved this sport so much. Soon, the player stats arrived shortly after, displaying everyone's points and splat count.

"Wow, you got 20 splats! That's pretty nice for a newcomer!" Allison commented, elbowing the Octoling playfully while she chuckled nervously. While still proud of herself for doing so well, she still remembered that she was still trying not to be discovered as an Octoling, and did her best to brush off the large amount of attention as players from both sides congratulated her, often asking if she were interested in another round.

"I-I think I'm fine, but it was nice playing with you all." She politely said. Nicholas watched as the whole scene played out, and as he watched the Octoling celebrate her first Turf War victory, he couldn't help but be reminded of when both him and Allison had won their first match. Something about that feeling made him warm inside, and he couldn't help but smile.

* * *

 **Later…**

"So...you're going now?" Allison asked, a forlorn expression on her face. Natalie was saddened as well, but she knew she had to go back. While she really wished she could stay in the Inkling city forever, she also knew she couldn't just abandon Nemo and the others, not when they were probably worried sick for her well-being. The three of them were currently sitting at a table at the Plaza, discussing Natalie's departure from the city.

"Please don't be sad. Look, I want to stay here and all, but I have people I care about back home...perhaps when I find a way, I will bring them here too, so they can experience how wonderful it is!" Natalie said, trying to cheer the Inkling girl up. She gave the Octoling a small smile, but the smile seemed somewhat artificial.

"Why can't you just stay, even for a little bit? We could try contacting your friends, and then maybe getting those people you said were there to help you. We can help too, right Nicholas?" Allison asked her brother, who looked up from his Squidphone.

"I don't know Allison, seems a bit risky…even your friend here thinks so, and she's the one going there, not us."

"Allison, you remember our promise, don't you? I want to bring my friends here so we can live in this wonderful city, but I can't just call them from a remote communication device, it's just not that easy. I know it pains you to listen to this, but I have to go." Natalie said. She tried to smile, but found it hard to as she watched the younger Inkling girl look like she was losing hope. Returning to Nemo and her other friends sounded like such a good idea before, after all she did want to return home. But after having stayed in Inkopolis for even only for such a short time period, she felt like she shouldn't have to leave. This city was such an improvement over her home at the military academy, and it was such a shame she had to leave it all behind. But in the back of her mind, Natalie knew she just couldn't stand the guilt that would eventually form from not returning to Nemo in the end.

"Well, as much as I think it's great you're doing this to help your friend's lives, don't you think we should have some sort of plan?" Nicholas asked.

"It's hard to plan for something like this...there's just too many things that could go down in the near future, making planning difficult."

"Difficult or not, it could help your situation. Just tell us what we need to know, and we can work from there." Nicholas explained.

"Yeah, we need to know how we can help! I did make that promise with you after all." Allison chimed in.

"O-okay, I guess it won't hurt." Natalie sighed, and all three began to discuss what to do about their situation. No one seemed to notice anything different about them, or the fact one was an Octoling. To the rest of the Inkling kids roaming the Plaza, these three were just regular Inklings doing their regular sport of Turf Wars. Little did they know, that those very three Inklings were planning something big, or at least big to them. They were all huddled in, whispering so softly that no one could hear, no one but them. In the end, after all was said and discussed, they split apart, with Nicholas and Allison walking their Octoling friend to the grate.

"Hey, don't get splatted out there, okay? Here, take this-" Allison shoved into Natalie's hands a Splattershot and the standard ink container she gave her. "-you're gonna need it."

"Th-thank you. For everything." Natalie replied.

"No problem! Come back 'any' time!" Allison said, winking.

"I will try, thank you." Natalie replied, smiling. She then turned to Nicholas, who had his hands in his pockets. "I hope this plan of yours works."

"I hope so too. Remember, if you need help, you know where to find us."

"I know. Thank you, both of you, again, I really can't express enough how thankful I am." Natalie said. She shook hands with Nicholas and gave Allison a high five, before they waved to each other as Natalie turned into an octopus and sunk into the kettle.

* * *

 **Octo Valley**

"How's Nemo taking it so far?" Cici asked Octavia. Both watched from afar as the Octoling in question ate his lunch in silence and alone, although eating was an overstatement as the Octoling had done nothing but grumpily pick at his food.

"He hasn't spoken to Orcus in a while, and he doesn't seem to want to do anything besides go wherever he used to go with Natalie. It's kind of sad watching him just sit there by himself on the cushion at the library." Octavia responded.

"Ouch. And Orcus?"

"Orcus blames himself for the whole thing. I haven't seen him all day, but I assume he hasn't been taking this whole situation well either." Octavia added.

"I can imagine. It doesn't matter to anyone else though, especially not Augustus. He got what he needed, and from what I heard, the Great Octoweapons are being repaired and reactivated to help protect the Zapfish from these Inklings." Cici said. Octavia's eyes widened upon hearing this.

"The Great Octoweapons!? Don't tell me we are going to war!"

"We aren't, or at least, it doesn't sound like it. I think Octavio is just taking extra security measures to protect the Zapfish at all costs." Cici replied. The two continued to talk and chat for a bit more until they saw Nemo get up from his seat, taking his tray and trashing its contents before dumping onto a stack of dirty trays, awaiting their cleaning. The two girls followed him as he walked around the halls, slightly slouched and keeping his head down.

"I really hope this doesn't affect him forever. It looks like he's losing it." Cici commented.

"I just wish Natalie never disappeared or died like this, without any trace or a goodbye. I mean, imagine how she must have felt. You know, I would ask for something, anything, maybe a miracle to happen. I just want her back, alive and well." Octavia said. Suddenly, they heard loud shouts down the hall, with several different voices speaking in Octarian talking to each other, although one voice was raising.

"You need to display your id, soldier."

"Ugh, leave me alone, I already told you many times that I attend this academy you dolts! Now buzz off!" A female voice shouted. Octavia looked at the source and tugged Cici's arm. "Hold on, isn't that…?"

"Hm?" Cici turned to look at her friend.

"I-I'm pretty sure I just heard Natalie."

"What?" Cici looked at the same direction Octavia was facing, but she quickly turned back to where Nemo was walking to. "Come on, Octavia. What makes you think that random voice was Natalie? It's probably just another trooper. Don't be your brother and lose it." Octavia ignored her and stepped closer to the hallway.

"You must display your id-"

"Oh shut up with that already! You've been following me through the halls forever now all because you 'don't recognize me' or something. Please, just listen to me when I say I attend this academy and that I do not need to display an id!" There was the voice again. It was louder now and sounded closer. Now, there was a hint of an accent of some sort from the voice. This time, it seemed as though Octavia wasn't the only one who noticed this, as Nemo's head perked up from his depressed-looking state. Around the corner at the end of the hall, a female Octoling emerged, being followed by a lone Octotrooper that constantly asked her for an id. The Octoling looked similar, with the regular Octoling soldier hairstyle on her head, and her noticeable birth red tentacle color. She wasn't wearing standard Octoling gear though, instead wearing some much more colorful shirts. She also carried some sort of weapon that look similar to the standard Octo Shot, but more colorful and slightly different in design.

"Th-that's impossible...how…" Octavia muttered, while Cici was speechless. They then turned their gaze towards Nemo, who just stood there, jaw open and seemingly about to fall off. The female Octoling on the other side of the hall looked up and gave Nemo a reassuring smile, and Nemo couldn't hold it in. He bolted straight for her, and while the Octotrooper yelled to him to stop, he shoved it out of the way and continued on his run, until he collided with the girl at the end of the hall, embracing her in a big hug.

"H-how…there's no way...are you real?" Nemo whispered into her ear, asking himself. He started touching her face and tentacles, holding out her hand and feeling her fingers. Everything felt like the real thing, everything felt normal.

"This has to be some kind of trick, I mean, Trenton or Marina must be projecting you or-" The female Octoling just hushed him though, smiling as she did so. It was a calm smile, a familiar one that Nemo could never forget.

"Nope, I'm not fake. Nemo, I'm all real, in the fle-" The female Octoling was interrupted by another tight hug, jumping slightly from the shock.

"I missed you." Nemo simply said, not wanting to let her go.

"I missed you too." Natalie replied, hugging the Octoling back as Octavia, Cici, and the confused Octotrooper watched.

* * *

 **Yeah, pretty long chapter. Now, you might be wondering what this plan of theirs discussed at the end could be and why no details are really said about any of this, but I did that on purpose, since I don't really want to spoil everything so soon. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this small deviation from the usual Octo Valley setting of the other chapters. We are now literally right next to Splatoon 1 time-wise, so be sure to check out the next chapters when they arrive! Thanks for reading and be sure to leave a review!**


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